


Life in a Parallel Universe

by LoveStoryFanatic



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Action/Adventure, American Sign Language, Backstory, Betrayal, Blood, Children, Denial of Feelings, F/M, Family, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Hell, Humor, Journey, Kidnapping, Love, M/M, Major Character Injury, Marriage, Pain, Plot Twists, Razors, Revenge, Romance, Sexual Content, Situational Humiliation, Surprises, Torture, Violence, Waterboarding, carving, crossover reference, happy endings, hidden messages
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-25
Updated: 2013-11-13
Packaged: 2017-12-06 11:00:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 72,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/734911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoveStoryFanatic/pseuds/LoveStoryFanatic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU: Dean Winchester has an ordinary, slightly boring life. That is until he meets Castiel and his life changes forever. Sam/Jess, Destiel at some point. No monsters, demons, or hunters</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Just The Beginning

**Chapter 1**

Dean Winchester is just an ordinary man. He has a stable job working as a nurse at Huffington General Hospital. He has his own apartment or bachelor pad, as he likes to refer to it. His life is not filled with demons, monsters, or archangels. His life is simple, normal, and slightly boring. That is until a certain blue-eyed man steps into his life and changes it forever.

**SPN**

Dean sat in one of the chairs at the nurse’s station. It was a rather slow day with very few injured or sick people. That was a good thing, but it made the hours pass by very slowly at Huffington General.

Dean sat drumming his fingers against the desk, glancing at the clock every few minutes. He couldn’t wait to get out of there and start off his weekend with beers with his friends. He looked briefly around their little section of the hospital. The halls were quiet with very little activity. He had already gotten caught up on his paperwork and checked on all of his patients.

The minutes passed slowly until they turned into hours. Dean looked up at the clock one final time with a smile on his face. It was time to get changed in the locker room and get the hell out of Dodge.

He changed quickly in the locker room and got out of there as quickly as possible without being too obvious. Walking through the parking lot, he spotted his 1967 Chevy Impala, black. This was his baby. He had rebuilt her from the ground up just a couple of years ago when he had been in a near fatal accident. Some drunk driver who decided to attempt to text his wife that he was on his way home hadn’t noticed that the light had turned red. His truck had slammed into the driver’s door of the Impala, driving her into parked traffic on the other side of the red light.

Dean had stopped breathing due to his injuries, but was thankfully able to be revived minutes later. If it hadn’t been for the fact that it had been his friends trying to save him at his own hospital, they would have given up and he would have died. It had taken him a little while to recover, but he was able to walk away with nothing but the memory of it and a few scars, one of which ran from the bottom of his left ear and stopped at his collarbone.

It hadn’t been the first time she had had to be rebuilt. Every time something happened to her, Dean was thankful that his father had shown him everything he needed to know about cars before he had disappeared. That was ten years ago to the day. Every year on the anniversary of his father’s disappearance, he would go to the bar with his friends, silently toast his father, and then forget he once had a father by the end of the night.

It had been made a tradition thanks to his good friends, Jo and Ellen. Ellen had known his father back when he was just a kid. They had a falling out, and Ellen never saw him again. It had been twelve years since Ellen had seen Dean when he had walked through the door of the Roadhouse looking for information on John. Since that day, the Roadhouse had become Dean’s favorite bar and that’s where he was now.

“Dean! About damn time you got here. I was startin’ to think you’d never show up.”

A smile lit Dean’s face as he made his way to the bar where Jo was already getting him a beer. “Traffic was hell. But I’m here now, so let the party begin!” Dean missed it as Jo rolled her eyes and took a swig from his beer. His eyes swept over the bar casually looking for their other friends and spotted them in the back by the pool table.

He made his way through the growing crowd and joined his friends as they started to celebrate another weekend together.

A few hours and six beers later, Dean was feeling pretty good. Most of the group had already gone home for various reasons and only Dean, Ash, and Jo were left. The crowd had thinned to the point where one person could man it, so Ellen had taken over allowing Jo to spend time with her friends.

They were laughing and carrying on when Ellen had caught Dean’s eye. She gestured with her eyes to a girl in her early twenties being harassed by a guy who couldn’t be too much older. Dean nodded and kept an eye on them to make sure she didn’t get hurt, but stayed out of it for the time being. Dean was sort of like a volunteer bouncer for Ellen. If she spotted trouble, she’d have Dean handle it for her so no one got hurt. He was pretty good at defusing tense situations or at least taking it outside before a bar fight got started.

At the first sign of trouble, Dean set down his beer and moved to intercede. He crossed the bar and stepped in between the young woman and the man. “Excuse me, sir. I’m going to have to ask you to please leave this young woman alone. She’s made it clear that she doesn’t want to go anywhere with you.”

The air became thick with tension as the man grabbed ahold of Dean’s shirt and pulled him towards him. “You listen to me, man, I’m a cop and this is none of your business. So why don’t you just back off.” Dean pulled away from the man, but didn’t leave. “I’m sorry sir, but I think you’ve had one too many. Why don’t we call you a cab and you go home and sleep it off.”

The cop stepped into Dean’s personal space and practically spat in his face. “Don’t you tell me I’ve had enough. I know when I’ve had enough.” Dean glanced over at Ellen who nodded. He looked back towards the man as she started to make her way slowly to the phone to call the police. “Hey man, why don’t we just take this outside. There’s no need for anyone to get hurt or cause a scene.”

“Fine. After you, pretty boy.” Dean stepped away from the cop and lead him out of the bar into the cold night.

**SPN**

Jo and Ash watched from where they had been sitting as Dean was followed out of the bar by the cop. They had been close enough to hear what had been said and knew what was going on. They set down their beers and left the bar as well.

When they stepped outside, the night was silent. All that could be heard were crickets. Jo and Ash glanced in each other’s direction before walking out farther into the dark parking lot. “Well hell, where do ya think he went, Jo?” Jo shook her head, scanning the parking lot. The Impala was still parked in its usual spot and she was empty.

The sound of a trunk slamming shut filled the night air. Their heads whipped in that direction as a car door opened, shut, and an engine started. They raced through the parking lot towards where the car was parked.

They saw it just in time for whoever was inside to slam it into drive and floor it out of there. Ash turned in circles, surveying the parking lot, as Jo ran forward where the car had previously been. In mid-circle, Ash spotted a small puddle of something he had missed when they left the bar. He moved towards it and stopped when he reached it.

“Hey, Jo? Might wanna see this.” He bent down and stuck his finger into the puddle. He brought it up to eye level and squinted his eyes in the darkness. “What is it, Ash? Did you find something?

Without turning around he said, “I’m not a genius or nothin’, but I’m willin’ to bet this is blood. And it’s fresh.”

**SPN**

Dean woke to the sound of someone sharpening a knife. He laid still not opening his eyes for a few moments in order to take in his surroundings before alerting whomever was in the room to his consciousness. He heard the sound of a leaky faucet, the sharpening of a knife, and birds outside. He could smell faint traces of chloroform still lingering on his clothes from being drugged.

“It’s no use pretending, I know you’re awake, pretty boy. And it’s about damn time too. I was hoping you wouldn’t sleep through all the fun we’re going to have.”

Dean opens his eyes slowly. He commits every detail he can to memory in case he’s able to escape. The man who drugged him took a big, long swig from a bottle of whiskey as he stood up and crossed the room.

He looked down at Dean, laying on the ground with his hands and feet tied behind his back. “What the hell do you want with me?” The man smiled maliciously. “Now, now, Dean. If I tell you, I’d ruin the big surprise, now wouldn’t I?”

**SPN**

A man in a black tailored suit, loose navy blue tie, tan trench coat, and a pair of piercing blue eyes walked through the line of officers holding back on-lookers and approached Jo, Ash, and Ellen.

“My name is Agent Samuels. I am leading the investigation into the disappearance of Dean Winchester. I was told you three were the last to see him before he disappeared.”

Ellen nodded. “He was taking a man outside who had been harassing a young woman. Dean had stepped in to make sure she didn’t get hurt.”

Agent Samuels nodded as he wrote down everything on a small pad of paper. “What did this man look like?”

Ash threw down his cigarette butt and squished it into the dirt. “Tall, maybe an inch shorter than Dean. Five o’clock shadow, downin’ beers. Suit, no jacket, shirt slightly untucked. Black hair, slicked back. Dark eyes. Kind of creepy, if ya ask me.” Agent Samuels continued to nod and write down more notes.

“He was a cop.” The agent’s head snapped up and his eyes locked with Jo’s. “And how do you know that, Miss?”

“Ash and I were sitting nearby where we could hear the conversation. The man told Dean he was a cop. Dean offered to call him a cab, saying he had too many. The man refused, got violent. Dean said, ‘Let’s take this outside so no one gets hurt.’ The man agreed and they left. We got up to follow, but by the time we got out the door…I don’t know. They were gone. A minute later we heard a trunk slamming shut, car door, an engine start up, and they were gone. That’s when we found the blood.”

The agent nodded once more letting the information sink in and commit the details to memory. “Thank you, I will be getting in touch with the three of you shortly.” The man turned and walked towards the pile of blood. His partner was talking to a crime analyst who was studying the blood. “Balthazar, do you have anything?” Balthazar looked up at his partner. “Well, it is most definitely blood. Other than that, zip. They’re taking it back to the lab to run tests to see if it is in fact the victim’s. What did the witness’s say?”

“The man we’re looking for is a cop. Roughly six foot, black hair, dark eyes, unshaven. Sound like anyone you know?”

Balthazar’s eyes met his partner’s. “Oh, Cassie, that rings quite a few bells. Let’s head back to the office and get started on a list.”


	2. That Green-Eyed Man

**Chapter 2**

A quiet groan escaped Dean’s lips as the man’s fists continued to pound into his stomach. He didn’t know how much more of this he could take. There was a long cut running down from his right temple to just under his cheek bone.

He was pretty sure he at least had a couple of cracked ribs, if not broken. When the man was pretty sure Dean wouldn’t be able to get away, he untied his hands and feet. He rolled Dean over onto his back and retied his hands so they were tied in front of him instead.

“Okay, you’re going to have to help me out a bit. And don’t even think about disobeying or trying to make a run for it. It will not end pretty.” Dean squinted his eyes shut in pain as the cop forced him into a sitting position. He slowly got to his feet with the help of the damn bastard that kidnapped him.

Once he was on his feet, the man lowered a hook that had been hanging from the ceiling. The man took the ropes binding Dean’s wrists together and looped it around the hook, hoisting him up slightly. The only reason Dean was still standing was because of the hook holding him up. His knees were slightly bent and his head was hanging down.

Dean kept repeating to himself over and over again that Jo and Ash would get help. The cops would find him, and he’d be saved. That’s all he had. All he had was his faith that he would get through this alive.

**SPN**

Castiel walked into the office he shared with his partner, Balthazar. “We know who kidnapped Dean Winchester. He is the only one who matches the description who has not shown up for work and has not been seen since last night. His name is Jake Sinclair.”

Balthazar looked up from his computer and nodded. “Okay then, Cassie. Let’s go save someone.”

Castiel’s brow furrowed and he pursed his lips. “We aren’t sure where he is yet. Gabriel is getting a warrant from a judge to turn on his gps locator. We should be able to locate him in the next hour or so.”

Balthazar nodded, “Well, let’s just hope the poor lad can hang on that long. That is, if he’s even still alive.” The air filled with tension as Castiel thought of all the things that could be happening to the missing man. He had no idea how much he would come to regret not pushing the investigation along much faster.

**SPN**

Jake circled his latest victim with a smug grin on his face. It had been easier than he had thought to trick the man into going outside with him. He had been going to that bar for weeks doing recon. He knew that this man was always the one to stop the fights before they started. He was also the one to fix someone up after a fight.

Jake chuckled darkly to himself. No one was here to patch him up for him. Dean was all his. If someone did manage to track him down, he would make sure he was dead before they got him back.

This man was too much of a pretty boy for his own good. Jake knew his type. He would flirt dangerously with the pretty girls, take them home for a one-night stand, and then never call them again. Their hearts would break after realizing that what they had thought was the beginning of something was just another meaningless one-night stand.

He watched as Dean struggled to take in another breath. He had beat the shit out of this man for what had happened to his sister, Sarah. She had gone out with her friends one night, was picked up by some pretty boy who thought he was that and he had taken her home. A month later, she found out she was pregnant and she never heard from the man again.

She lasted throughout the entire pregnancy before she drowned her own child and then killed herself. Jake had found her like that. That day he vowed to make every pretty boy pay for they did to women. It just wasn’t fair.

“Why..Why are you doing this?” Jake chuckled darkly once more as he circled to face Dean.   
“I vowed that every pretty boy would pay for what they do to women on every one-night stand. You will pay for what you’ve done to poor, innocent women.”

Dean lifted his head to look at the man. “You don’t…don’t even know me.” A wide grin plastered itself to Jake’s face. “Ah contraire, my friend, I do. I know your kind. You seduce women in bars, take them home, have your way with them, and then you’re done. You dump them on the side of the road like the trash you’re done with. I won’t let you do that to another woman ever again.”

Dean’s head shook slightly before he coughed and blood trickled down his lip. “I don’t…you don’t understand. I-I don’t swing that way, dude. You have it all wrong.”

Jake stopped in his circling and tensed. How had he gotten it wrong? He turned back to face Dean. Now that he was really looking at him, he could see it. “Ah, so we have ourselves a faggot, do we? That’s even better than an egotistical asshole who seduces women mercilessly. No, you on the other hand…you go against nature.”

The look in Dean’s eyes hardened and he mustered up all the strength he could to throw him the worst death glare he could. It was like high school all over again.

Jake moved towards him slowly. “Hm, what could I possibly do to you that would make you regret the day you turned gay?”

Dean struggled against rolling his eyes. “I didn’t just wake up one day gay, idiot. Did you wake up one day and decide to be a dude?”

Jake stepped forward until he was only inches from Dean’s face. “You better watch the way you’re talkin’ to me, fag. I’mma cop remember that.” Dean refused to look away from this man. It blew his mind how incredibly stupid and discriminatory this man was.

Jake’s fist connected with Dean’s stomach once, twice, three times before he took a step back and smirked. “Even if you somehow make it out of this alive, you’ll be so scarred up no one will be able to look at your ugly face. Say goodbye to the looks, pretty boy.”

Dean spit out a glob of blood and aimed it so it landed on the douche’s shoe. Jake looked down at his shoe and then slowly back up at Dean. “You’ll be sorry now, you fuckin’ queer!”

His fist connected the side of Dean’s face over and over again. Then he moved lower and started hitting his ribs and sides. That’s when Jake got an idea. “You think you’re so smart, pretty boy? I bet you didn’t see this coming.”

Jake moved closer to Dean and started to do undo his belt. Dean’s eyes widened. This could not be happening. He got Dean’s belt undone, pulled the button open, and was about to move to the zipper when the door burst open and FBI agents were in there in seconds.

“FBI! Put your hands in the air, Jake!” Dean’s head lifted just enough to see a man with the bluest eyes he’d ever seen and wearing a trench coat rush towards him as he watched the world grow hazy around the edges and he finally allowed himself to be pulled into unconsciousness.

Castiel rushed to the man’s side as his partner put Jake Sinclair in handcuffs and had him escorted out of the building. Castiel could barely register the fact that he was yelling for the paramedics.

He wrapped one arm around Dean’s waist as he used his other hand reached up and cut the rope connecting Dean’s wrists to the hook. As soon as the rope was cut, Dean dropped. All of his weight was resting on Castiel as he carried him out of the building and outside to the waiting paramedics.

Castiel laid him down on the ground as gently as he could so as not to irritate his already serious injuries. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t take his eyes off of Dean. Something about the man fascinated him, but he wasn’t quite sure what. Hell, the man wasn’t even conscious, he was bleeding in numerous spots, was covered in bruises, and looked like hell, but he still fascinated the agent to no end.

He watched as the paramedics loaded Dean into the ambulance. At the last minute, he rushed forward saying he was going to ride with them to the hospital. He turned to tell Balthazar, but he was already pushing Castiel forward towards the ambulance.

He climbed in after the EMT and sat next to the unconscious man he had just rescued.

**SPN**

Balthazar had called the man’s friends and let them know that he had been fine and that he was on his way to the hospital.

Jo and Ash, along with Dean’s other friends that worked at the hospital, were standing around the emergency room waiting for the ambulance to show up. A few minutes later, the doors burst open and Jo got a good look at the bloody mess that was her best friend.

He had cuts and bruises covering his face, neck, and arms. She didn’t even want to know about all the internal damage that had to be there after a beating like that. She noticed circular bruising around his wrists and instantly knew that his wrists had been tied together roughly. He really went through hell.

He was unconscious still as the paramedics rushed him into the emergency room with an oxygen mask on his face. The doctors and nurses on duty rushed him into surgery, leaving Jo, Ash, and Castiel waiting in the waiting room for news on how bad it was and whether he’d be okay or not.

They waited for three hours; three long, excruciating hours that consisted of pained small talk and several bad cups of coffee.

Just when Jo wasn’t sure if she could take it any longer, Dr. Matthews walked through the emergency room doors looking exhausted. He gave Jo a small smile, reassuring her that Dean was okay. He walked over to the three of them and sat down in one of the waiting room chairs.

“Dean pulled through surgery just fine. He’s going to be okay after several weeks of recovery. He had four broken ribs, massive internal bleeding, a punctured lung, several cuts and gashes, his knee was twisted at the wrong angle, so it’ll need therapy. We patched him up and he’s on the mend. They’re taking him to recovery now. I’m going to hold off on allowing visitors though until tomorrow. Dean’s been through hell and back in the past couple of days and he needs a serious amount of rest.”

Jo and Ash nodded, keeping quiet, worrying about their friend. Castiel looked up at the doctor. “When do you think he’ll regain consciousness?”

The doctor sighed and thought for a moment before answering. “Honestly, I’m not sure. It could be in a few hours, or it could be a couple of days from now due to all the stress his body endured. Dean’s a fighter though, so I’m leaning more towards sooner rather than later. You’ll be able to speak with him once he’s conscious enough to have a normal conversation. I’ll call as soon as I’m certain he’s okay to talk to you.”

Castiel nodded, “Thank you, Doctor. I really appreciate the cooperation. I wouldn’t want to impede Dean’s recovery. I’ll talk to you soon.” He stood, nodding to Jo and Ash, before leaving the hospital.

He spotted Balthazar sitting in his car. Castiel got in the passenger side and they rode in silence back to the office to start filling out paperwork. The entire ride to the office Castiel couldn’t get the green-eyed man out of his mind.

Besides the pictures he’d seen of Dean during the investigation, he’d only seen the man’s eyes for the briefest of moments before he allowed himself to be pulled into the darkness. Before that happened, their eyes had locked and Castiel had seen how the bright green of his eyes had faded the slightest bit. It had unnerved Castiel to see his soul faded just that tiny bit.

In all the pictures he had seen, Dean’s eyes had been bright and happy, but otherwise barred by walls, not allowing anyone to see into his soul.

When Castiel’s eyes locked with his in person, that wall was deteriorated and his soul was laid out on display for Castiel to see. He wanted to get to know that soul more for some strange reason. He had never wanted to get to know anyone he rescued or had met on the job, but this man was different for some reason.

Castiel stared out the window thinking about that green-eyed man and what he would say to him when he finally got to have a conversation with him. 


	3. The Past is Creeping Up

**Chapter 3**

The air smelled like antiseptic and hand sanitizer with a small dash of lavender. Dean knew that last smell anywhere. He had grown accustomed to that smell years ago when he had first met Jo.

Dean’s eyes slowly opened and he took in the room. Just like he thought he was in a hospital room. He couldn’t remember how he had gotten there. The last thing he remembered was that douchebag beating the shit out of him. And then a pair of bright blue eyes coming towards him. He had never seen a pair of blue eyes like that in his entire life. The more he thought about them, the more the image stayed with him.

For some reason, he wanted to see those blue eyes again. He didn’t even know who they belonged to, but something inside of him was pushing him to find those blue eyes no matter what he needed to do to find them.

Dean’s eyes slid over to Jo. She was slumped over the side of his bed fast asleep. It looked like she had been there for awhile. He took a good look around his room to find a couple of vases of flowers and several get well soon cards strewn across the room. He smiled at his friend’s love for him. He was friends with most of the people who worked at the hospital. There were some people he just couldn’t stand, like some of the doctors who thought they were better than the mere nurses.

Dean saw his phone sitting on the little nightstand next to the bed. It was just within reach so he reached over and grabbed it. He unlocked it and scrolled through all his missed calls and messages.

There were a lot from his friends telling him to get better as well as a few calls from a number he didn’t recognize.

Dean looked up as the door started to creak open and the familiar smell of old books and whiskey wafted into the room. He smiled as the man who had stepped in when his father disappeared and had become like a second father to him walked into the room. “Hey, Bobby.”

Bobby hadn’t realized that Dean was awake and looked up at the man he’d come to think of as his own son. A small smile twitched at his lips. “Hey look at that. Sleeping beauty awakes. It’s about damn time you rose from the dead.”

Dean chuckled as Bobby made himself at home next to the bed on the opposite side as Jo. “Speaking of, how long have I been out?”

Bobby glanced down at his watch, “About a day and a half. You were in pretty bad shape when you came in. Good news, looks like you’ll be able to get your pretty boy looks back.”

Dean repressed a flinch at those words. He didn’t want Bobby to see how much he’d been affecting by what had happened to him. He could still hear that man’s voice calling him pretty boy, among other things.

Instead he placed a natural-looking smile on his face and forced out a laugh. “Wouldn’t want it any other way, now would we? That’d be a shame. The world would lose someone as good-looking as me? Now that’s just a crime.”

Bobby rolled his eyes as he took out his phone. “Right. Oh, an FBI agent will be stopping by at some point today to talk to you. He called me earlier to see if you’d arisen from the dead yet and said he’d stop by and check up on you.”

Dean nodded distractedly. He couldn’t help but wonder if it was an agent who possessed those magically blue eyes. And if they did belong to an agent, was it the same agent who’d be stopping by? He didn’t want to get his hopes up, but he couldn’t stop a small part of him from hoping they belonged to that agent.

“There’s another thing I need to talk to you about.” Dean roused himself from his thoughts of the blue-eyed man and looked over at his father figure. When their eyes locked, Bobby continued. “This agent, Agent Samuels, he did some digging while you were…previously engaged. He said it’d help to have all the information, or some shit like that.”

Dean nodded, “Okay? I don’t know what there is to find…” There wasn’t much in his background that was a mystery unless you counted his missing father. He doubted that some FBI agent had found his father though, it’d been too long.

“At first, I thought he was going to track down your old man. No such luck, sorry. But, he did find someone else…He found your mom, Dean.”

He had never forgotten about his mother, but he had shoved her to the back of his mind and refused to think of her. He didn’t want to be reminded of her. He didn’t want to think about the way she would tuck him in at night and whisper in his ear, “Sweet dreams, my love. Remember, angels are always watching over you.”

He didn’t want to think of how she always smelled like fresh air and nature or how she would ruffle his hair when he’d walk by her. He didn’t want to think about how she would kiss the top of his head at night when he’d have a bad dream. Or the way her eyes would crinkle when she smiled at him.

Thinking of his mother brought a fresh wave of pain crashing down around him. He hadn’t seen his mother since he was six-years-old and still innocent. He remembered seeing his little brother for the first time wrapped in a little blue blanket. He remembered promising his mom that he would make sure nothing ever happened to his little brother, that he loved him already.

One month later, he had come home from school only to find an empty house. His mother was always home waiting for him. She would meet him at the bus stop a block from their house and they’d walk home together. That day he had had to walk with the other kids who lived on his street. He had known instantly that something wasn’t right.

He remembered everything as if it had been yesterday…

_Dean walked into the big house alone. When he opened the front door, he was met by silence. The unnatural kind of silence. The kind of silence that tells you that something’s not right. He walked through the door and slowly moved through the house looking for his mom. She hadn’t met him at the corner like she always did and he was worried._

_“Mom? Where are you?”, he called into the big, empty house. He was met only by silence. He knew his father was at work, so he was only expecting his mom and little brother to be home._

_He walked into the kitchen. There were always fresh baked cookies on Monday and today was a Monday. There were no cookies on the counter. Mary always told him that if he was a good boy all weekend and did all of his homework, she would make him fresh baked cookies on Monday for him to eat afterschool. It had been their tradition ever since he had started kindergarten._

_“Mommy? Where are you?!” He was starting to panic. As he moved farther into the kitchen, he spotted a piece of paper laying on the kitchen table. He set his book bag down on a chair and picked up the note. He was an excellent reader for someone his age, so he was able to read the entire thing by himself._

_“John-_

_I am very sorry about this, but I can’t stay here anymore. I just can’t handle it. I’ve taken Sammy and left. Please don’t try to come after us. You won’t be able to find us. I didn’t have the heart to do this in person. I knew that you wouldn’t have let me leave if I had. So I had no other choice but to do it this way. You won’t hear from me again. I hope that you have a nice life. Find someone who can really love you with all of their heart. My heart is just too broken to be able to give you the kind of happiness you truly deserve. You’re a good man, John. You’re an amazing father and I know you’ll raise our son right. He’s the best little boy I could ever have asked for. He’s so much like you and I know he’ll grow up to be an extraordinary man. I wish things could be different, but I just can’t. I’m so sorry. Goodbye, John._

_-Mary”_

_Dean set the piece of paper down and felt tears sliding down his cheeks. His mother had left him. She’d taken his brother and left. He knew what he was supposed to do in an emergency and this was an emergency._

_He walked over to the phone and dialed the second number on the speed dial. It was his father’s work number. The phone rang a couple of times before a young woman’s voice came across the line, “Ralph’s Mechanics. How can I help you?”_

_He knew who had answered. She was the assistant where his dad worked. He would hang out with her sometimes when he’d go to work with his dad. His voice wouldn’t work properly and it wobbled as he talked. “B-Brittany. I-I need to talk to my Dad…”_

_Brittany’s voice changed instantly when she heard Dean’s voice break. She’d never seen him cry unless he had fallen and gotten seriously hurt like when he broke his arm. “Dean honey? Is everything okay?”_

_“No…I need to talk to D-Dad. Mom’s gone. She’s gone.” “Oh my god. Hang on, Little Man, I’ll go get him. You hang in there, okay?”_

_“Okay. Thank you.” He listened as the phone was set down and someone was running through the shop. He could hear her faintly yelling for his dad. “John! John! You need to pick up the phone now! It’s Dean! Something’s wrong, he said Mary’s gone.” After a moment another line picked up and his father’s voice came over the phone._

_“Dean? Dean, what’s wrong? What happened?” Tears starting flowing down his cheeks instantly when he heard his father’s voice. “She wasn’t at the bus stop. She wasn’t there, so I knew something was wr-wrong. I came home and there, there was a note on the table. I r-read it and it was from Mom. She..She said she left. She took Sammy, Daddy. She took him! She’s gone. Did I do something wrong?”_

_He couldn’t control the sobs that were taking over his body. He heard John’s voice hitch and waited for his father to wrap his mind around what he’d just said. “No, Dean. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’ll be right there, okay? Stay in the house and lock the door. I’m on my way. It’s going to be okay. You hear me? It’s going to be okay.” The line went dead and Dean set the phone down._

_He did as he was told and locked the door. He sat down on the couch and curled into a ball. He cried until his Dad got home and found him. John wrapped his arms around his son and held him until the sobs rocked him into a fitful sleep._

Not too long after that, Dean convinced himself that it was his fault his mother left him. It was his fault that she had taken his little brother and left. After that, he refused to cry over her and his lost brother. He refused to let her weaken him. He had to stay strong for his dad and he was.

“Agent Samuels had the local police talk to her, find out what if she knew anything. He gave me a number for where to reach her. She wants to meet you, Dean, but you don’t have to.”

Dean nodded numbly. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to or not. She was his mother, but she had left him when he was only six-years-old. She had chosen his little brother over him. He didn’t think he could ever forgive her for leaving.

“I’ll think about it.” Bobby nodded and was about to change the subject, when there was a knock on the door.

Jo jerked awake and looked at the door before she realized that Bobby was there. “Oh, Bobby! How long have you been here?”

Bobby chuckled under his breath, “Long enough to have a conversation with Sleeping Beauty.”

Jo’s eyes widened as she turned and looked at Dean, just now noticing he was awake. Before she could say anything, the door opened and a man stepped into the room. “I hope I am not interrupting anything. Is this a good time?”

They all turned their attention to the new visitor. Dean was barely able to suppress a gasp as his eyes connected with that pair of bright blue eyes that rescued him from the dark.


	4. Coming Out

**Chapter 4**

Castiel stepped through farther into the room and moved towards the bed. He couldn’t move his eyes away from the man with the green eyes. “My name is Agent Castiel Samuels. I was in charge of the investigation. I hope this is not a bad time?”

He watched Dean, waiting for a response. The man seemed to be as frozen as he felt. Finally the older man that smelled like old books and whiskey spoke up. “Actually, Jo and I were just about to head for lunch. So the timing is great. We’ll…leave you two to it then.”

Castiel watched out of the corner of his eye as the older man threw Jo a pointed look and they both left, saying goodbye to Dean as they walked out of the door.

Finally, once the two had left, Dean unfroze and was able to look away from him for a split second. He motioned towards the chair that Jo had just been occupying moments before. “Please, make yourself at home.”

Castiel nodded and sat down in the chair. He wasn’t quite sure what to do. Normally he wasn’t this nervous when he talked to the victims afterwards. He was always cool and collected. This time his thoughts were scattered across his brain.

Dean was the first to break the silence. “I want to thank you for saving me. I don’t really remember how it happened, but I remember seeing you there just before I must have passed out or something. So, um…thank you.”

Castiel nodded, a small smile forming on his lips. “You are very welcome, Dean. I am just glad we were able to get there before he could do anymore damage.”

Dean nodded and averted his eyes, thinking about everything the man had done to him. “Dean, I need to get your statement about what happened. If you’re ready that is.”

He nodded once more and their eyes met again. Castiel could see the pain in the green eyes that he found to be so addicting.

“What do you want to know?” “Start from the beginning. When you first saw the man and work from there.”

He watched as Dean took a deep breath before starting his story. “I was at the Roadhouse having a few beers with my friends. Ellen caught my eye and gestured over to a man who was harassing a young woman. Ellen’s a good friend of mine, so whenever there’s a problem in the bar, she has me take care of it for her and I’m happy to do that. Less shit for her to deal with. I kept an eye on the two until the man just wouldn’t take no for an answer and then walked over to them. I asked him to leave her alone, he wouldn’t. I offered to call him a cab, but he didn’t want that either, so I suggested we step outside so we don’t cause a scene and so no one got hurt. I walked out of the bar and he was right behind me. The door closed and we made it a few feet from the door before I felt something hard hit the back of my head. The next thing I remember was waking up in the trunk of a car.”

Castiel nodded, giving Dean a moment before he continued with his story. The two never looked away from each other. “I remembered that some trunks have release hatches in the trunk and I started to search for one. I found it. I popped open the trunk and jumped out while the car wasn’t moving that fast. The man, I don’t know his name, he saw the trunk pop open and stopped the car. I almost outran him, but he caught up to me and tackled me to the ground. Then he chloroformed me.

Next thing I remember was waking up in that building with my wrists and ankles tied together. He started calling me pretty boy. He was drinking whiskey. He would circle me, kicking me at times. Throw a few punches. He beat the shit out of me for hours until I would pass out from the pain. When I woke up, he’d start in on it again. He stood me up and hung me from that damn hook after a few beatings. After he made sure to beat me enough to where I couldn’t escape. After awhile, he finally told me why he took me. He said that some pretty boy had a one night stand with his sister and got her pregnant. She never saw him again and ended up killing herself and the baby after it was born. He said he was the one who found them.”

He nodded his head once more, remembering reading that in Jake’s file. “That’s when I told him. I told him I…”

Dean finally looked away from him and stared down at his hands. Castiel leaned forward and gently rested his hand on top of Dean’s. “What did you tell him, Dean?”

Dean slowly looked up at Castiel until their eyes locked once more. It took him a minute before he could find the words and continue his story. “I told him that I don’t have one night stands with women. I told him that I don’t swing that way. That’s when he snapped and the beatings got worse. He called me names…faggot, queer, you name it. Every name you can think of, he used it. Then he got the idea that it would be even worse to rape me. He was undoing my pants when you guys showed up.”

Castiel’s eyes narrowed and his temper immediately flared. That sick bastard. He stood up and began pacing the room. He wasn’t quite sure what to say.

**SPN**

Dean watched as the blue-eyed man paced furiously. He could practically see the steam rolling off of him. He didn’t want to interrupt whatever was going on inside the man’s mind, so he just sat back and watched.

Dean caught himself wondering whether or not the agent was gay. He was very attractive and quite addicting to the eye. When he’d placed his hand over Dean’s, Dean had felt a kind of spark inside of him ignite. And when he’d taken his hand away as he stood to pace, Dean felt like a small chunk of himself went with him.

He didn’t even know this man, and yet he felt so connected to him. Dean was never one to make quick connections like this. With all the guys that he’d dated, nothing ever sparked. He never felt complete when he was with them, but he did when he was with Castiel.

“Cas, would you stop pacing? You’re making me dizzy.” He shifted slightly on the bed and a soft groan escaped his lips before he could stop it.

**SPN**

Castiel was furious. How dare that man lay a finger on Dean. How dare he torture him just because he’s gay. Castiel had never had any patience or sympathy with those who discriminated against anyone, especially when it was among the gay community.

He understood how Jake had mistaken Dean for a womanizer. He had the looks and the attitude of someone who would pick up women at the bar and take them home for the night. If Dean hadn’t told him that he was gay, Castiel doubted that he would have known.

Every time Castiel would walk by the bed, he’d glance over at Dean and smile inwardly. He knew that already he would do anything for this man. He would do everything in his power to make sure nothing happened to him. He would do everything it took to make sure he healed and was safe.

He thought briefly about the possibility of going out with him after he’d made a recovery. He could take Dean out for a couple of drinks. Maybe even…

“Cas, would you stop pacing? You’re making me dizzy.” A soft groan tore Castiel from his thoughts and his head whipped around to look at the man lying on the bed. He saw a wave of pain wash over Dean’s face before it was gone, hidden behind the wall he keeps around himself.

 He moved immediately to Dean’s side and placed his hand over Dean’s once more. Their eyes locked and Dean lowered the wall for a moment, letting Castiel see deep into his soul. A moment later, the wall was back up.

“I won’t hurt you, Dean. I’m here to protect you.” A small smile played at Dean’s lips. Cas reached over and pressed the pain medication button knowing that Dean never would no matter how much pain he was in. He was too much of a fighter for that.

As the pain medication started to drag Dean down into unconsciousness, Cas heard Dean mumble something. He had murmured, “My angel…”

**SPN**

Cas stayed with Dean while he slept for awhile before he had to leave and get back to his duties. When he walked into the office he shared with his partner, Balthazar looked up from all the paperwork he was doing.

“Hey, Cassie. Did you get that statement?” Cas nodded as he walked to his desk and sat down. He just sat there staring down at his desk for several long minutes before Balthazar looked back up and over to him. “Hey, is something wrong?”

Cas shook his head slowly. He was deep in thought. “You’re thinking about Mr. Handsome, aren’t you? I haven’t seen you look like that since…well, never actually. Why don’t you just ask him out?”

Cas finally looked up at his partner, breaking out of his thoughts of the green-eyed man. “How did you know…?” Balthazar rolled his eyes and set down his pen. “Oh please, Cassie, it’s obvious. He’s extremely handsome and _gay._ You finally found someone that attractive who is in fact of the same sexual orientation as you. And yet you haven’t asked him out yet.”

It was Cas’s turn to roll his eyes. “He’s in the hospital, Balthazar. He was severely injured and in a great deal of pain. If I were going to ask him, I would wait until after he’s made a recovery.”

Balthazar stared at his partner dumbfounded. “You don’t even know how…That’s not how you win the guy, Cassie. Dean-o is the damsel in distress, for lack of a better analogy, and you’re the prince in shining armor that charges into the castle and saves him from the big, bad monster. You have to take advantage of that while you still can. Take my advice: ask him if he wants to go get a drink once he’s recovered. While he’s still in the hospital. That will give him something to look forward to and something to push his recovery along a lot faster. Trust me, motivation can do wonders for the body.”

Cas was slowly nodding his head, taking in everything that Balthazar said. It made sense. And anything that would speed along Dean’s recovery was enough to get Cas out of his chair and on his way.

Balthazar chuckled as he watched Cas quickly walk out of the office, determination written plainly across his face.

Cas arrived at the hospital not long after his conversation with Balthazar. He had taken a longer route so as to come up with what he was going to say. There was no real reason for him to be back at the hospital. He had gotten Dean’s statement about what had happened, so there was no more official business to be done. This was strictly personal.

He made his way through the hospital, still trying to come up with what he could say. Come up with a reason as to why he was back already. He was still drawing a blank as he approached Dean’s room.

Jo was down the hallway on her way back to check on Dean when she saw Cas approach the door, hesitate, and then walk into the room. She smiled to herself and decided to give the men some time alone.

Cas opened the door and stepped through. He quickly looked around and noticed that Dean was awake again and that he was alone.

“I’m not disturbing you, am I?” Dean looked away from the small tv in the corner of the room and his eyes met Cas’s. Cas smiled as he watched Dean’s face light up at seeing Cas standing there. “Of course not! Wow, two visits in one day. I  must either be pretty special or the agency must be running a little slow today.”

Cas heard the joke in his voice and smiled. He decided to play along a little. “It depends on which one you’d prefer.” Dean’s smile stretched a little and he chuckled. “Well, either way, it’s good news for me.”

Cas’s smile widened and he nodded, getting comfortable in the chair he had been sitting in earlier. Seeing Dean happy made him happy. He would do anything to keep that smile on his face.

“Dean, I..um…have a question for you. That’s why I came back.” Dean’s face turned serious and he nodded for Cas to continue. Cas looked down at his hands, suddenly very nervous.

“You’re a very interesting person, Dean.” A small smile started to pull the corners of Dean’s mouth up. “Well, thanks, Cas. I think?” Cas nodded slowly, trying to get up the courage to just ask him.

“I was just wondering…if you’d like to go for drinks or something once you’ve healed. You don’t have to or anything, I was just curious if we could get to know each other better.”

A big grin slowly slipped onto Dean’s face as he realized that Cas was trying to ask him out. He stayed silent for a moment, trying to get the man to look up at him instead of staring down at his hands. Dean could tell he was really nervous, but he wanted to look into those blue eyes when he gave his answer.

“Cas,” He waited until Cas finally looked up from his hands and into Dean’s eyes. “I would love to.” Cas visibly relaxed into his seat and his face lit up.

They sat in comfortable silence for awhile just enjoying each other’s company. After a few minutes, Cas got brave and reached over to the bed. His hand wrapped around Dean’s and Dean moved his hand to give Cas better access. Their fingers intertwined together and both smiled.

They sat there holding hands watching the tv in silence. It wasn’t too long before Cas turned to look at Dean and saw him fighting to keep his eyes open. Cas smiled and squeezed his hand slightly. “Get some sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.” Dean smiled and allowed himself to drift off to sleep. The last thing that went through his mind before his slipped into a dream was the beautiful face of his angel.


	5. Latin for Angel

**Chapter 5**

Cas made his way through the hospital. Today was the day that Dean was finally being released from the hospital and he’d asked Cas to give him a ride home.

Cas thought back to the previous couple of weeks and his time spent with Dean at the hospital. Dean had asked Jo to bring a couple of things from his apartment so he wasn’t as bored during the times when it was just him. She had brought a few of his things, including his guitar.

Whenever Cas asked him to play it, he would, but he would never sing. He would just play the chords for some songs he knew. Every now and then Cas would catch him humming slightly under his breath, but it was hard to hear over the guitar.

Cas arrived at Dean’s room, but stopped short when he heard something inside the room. He stepped closer so that he could hear what was going on inside.

For a few moments, all he heard was Dean’s guitar. It was a sweet, slow melody that he rather enjoyed. What he heard next stopped his breath short.

**SPN**

Dean picked up his guitar as he sat on the end of the bed waiting for Cas to get there. He was finally getting out of the hospital. He loved working there, but being a patient sucked. He was ready to go home.

He started to strum a few chords, just playing around, until he remembered something that his mother used to play for him when he was little. He hadn’t thought about it in ages, but since Cas had found his mom, he had been thinking about her a lot.

His hands worked to find the correct notes and then settled into the rhythm as he found them. His voice filled the room as he began to sing the song his mother used to play for him every night.

_Someone's always coming around here_   
_Trailing some new kill_   
_Says "I've seen your picture on a_   
_Hundred-dollar bill"_   
_What's a game of chance to you,_   
_Here is one_   
_Of real skill_   
  
_So glad to meet you, Angeles_   
  
_Picking up the ticket shows there's_   
_Money to be made_   
_Go on, lose the gamble that's the_   
_History of the trade_   
_Did you add up all the cards left to play_   
_To zero_   
  
_And sign up with evil, Angeles?_   
  
_Don't start me trying now_   
_Uh-huh, uh-huh_   
  
_'Cause I'm all over it, Angeles_   
  
_I can make you satisfied in_   
_Everything you do_   
_All your secret wishes could right_   
_Now be coming true_   
_And spend forever with my poison arms_   
_Around you_   
  
_No one's gonna fool around with us_   
_No one's gonna fool around with us_   
_So glad to meet you, Angeles_

Cas stepped into the room and watched as Dean strummed the last couple of chords, completely entranced by the song. “I don’t understand that reference.”

Dean’s head snapped up and looked at Cas. He smiled slightly and blushed. “Hey there, Cas. Didn’t see you there. How long have you been standing there?”

Cas walked across the room and sat on the bed next to Dean. “I just stepped in, but I listened to the song from the other side of the door. I don’t understand that reference, Dean.”

Dean chuckled and entwined his fingers with Cas’s. “Angelus is latin for angel.” Cas’s brow furrowed as he substituted the word angel for angeles. He remembered Dean calling him his angel right before he fell asleep after the first time they had met.

Cas’s heart started to pick up pace as he thought more about it and the song he had sung. “Why did you sing that song?”

Dean looked down at his guitar and frowned. “Ever since Bobby told me that you found my mom, I…I’ve been thinking a lot about her. She used to sing me that song when I was little. Back before she left. Every night before I went to bed, she’d sing me that song. That’s how I would fall asleep. Sometimes she’d have her guitar, and sometimes she’d just sing it. I haven’t thought about that song in years. I haven’t thought about her in years. I was just playing around with some chords when it came into my mind and I just…played it. I haven’t heard it since I was six, and yet I remembered it as if it had been yesterday.”

Cas scooted a little closer to Dean and smiled up at him as he squeezed his hand. “You have an amazing voice, Dean. How come I’ve never heard you sing?”

A blush slowly creeped up Dean’s neck and onto his cheeks. “Back in school I was always teased for singing. The older kids always called me a baby or a little girl. So after that, I guess I just stopped singing. I haven’t in years.”

Cas leaned against Dean and rested his head on Dean’s shoulder. Dean smiled and rested his head on Cas’s. “What made you sing today then?” Dean’s smile widened. “I finally have something to sing about.”

**SPN**

Dean and Cas walked into Dean’s apartment. Dean looked around and smiled. “It’s good to be home.”

Cas watched him and chuckled. Dean sat down on the couch and rested his arms on the back of the cushions. He closed his eyes and just relished finally being home. Without opening his eyes he said, “Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to come sit down?”

Cas chuckled again and moved to sit down next to Dean. As soon as Cas sat down, Dean wrapped his arm around Cas’s waist and pulled him into him. Dean rested his head on Cas’s and sighed in contentment. He hadn’t been this happy in a very long time.

Cas snuggled into Dean, getting comfortable. They both just sat there like that for a good ten minutes before Dean broke the silence. “I want to meet her.”

Cas’s brow furrowed as he turned to look up into Dean’s eyes. He could always understand the conversation better if he was looking into his eyes. “Meet who, Dean?”

Dean stared off into space for a minute before answering him. “I want to meet my mom. Not that she’ll want to meet me…”

Cas grabbed Dean’s hand and entwined their fingers together. “When I spoke to her, she did want to meet you, Dean. Why would she not wish to?”

“It was my fault she left, Cas. That’s why she never tried coming to look for me. I mean, who just leaves their kid and never tries to look for them again if it wasn’t the kid’s fault? I accepted that a long time ago.”

Cas squeezed Dean’s hand. “It wasn’t your fault, Dean. She was the one who chose to leave. You were only six. You did nothing wrong.” Dean’s eyes filled with tears that he refused to let fall.

“I don’t know about that, Cas. She just left. She was there when I went to school, and then she was just gone when I got home. She took my little brother. Why didn’t she take me? Why did she leave me behind?”

Cas pulled Dean into his arms before he saw a couple of tears roll down his cheeks. Cas knew this was a sore subject for him. He just wished he knew how to help.

“I don’t know, Dean. That’s something you’re going to have to ask her.” Dean nodded and wrapped his arms around Cas’s waist as he calmed himself down. He wasn’t sure why he was getting so emotional about it. He hadn’t cried because of his mother since he was seven. Why the hell was he breaking down now?

Cas rubbed his hand down Dean’s back, helping him to relax. “Where is she?”

“She lives in California.” Dean nodded. “What else do you know about her?”

Cas kept moving his hand up and down Dean’s back. It seemed to be helping him relax. “She never remarried after she left your father. She’s lived in the same place she has since she left. She’s a journalist at a local newspaper. Also…there was something I found from before she left you and your father.”

Dean sat up and looked at Cas. “What is it, Cas?” He looked deep into Dean’s eyes and tried to find the best way to say it. “When your mother had you, she also had a little girl. She was pregnant with twins. She gave the little girl up for adoption, but kept you.”

Dean’s jaw dropped open slightly. He had a sister? A twin? And she was out there somewhere? “What’s her name?” “Her name is Nicole. She lives here. In town. I’ve been keeping track of her ever since I found out in case you ever wanted to know. She just moved here a month ago. I was planning on telling you today, after you were released.”

Dean nodded absentmindedly. He couldn’t be mad at Cas for not telling him sooner. If he was going to be mad at anyone, he was going to be mad at his parents for not telling him he had a sister. “What’s her last name?”

Cas pulled his phone out of his pocket and searched through it for a few moments before looking back up at him. “I had downloaded some files on her to my phone in case you ever inquired about it. Her last name is Teagan. She’s a mechanic downtown.”

Dean stood up and moved across the room, searching for his keys. “Dean, what are you doing?”

Without pausing his search, he called over his shoulder, “I’m looking for my keys. I’m going down there. I want to meet her.”

Cas nodded and stood. “We can take my car if you wish.” Dean shook his head, finally finding his keys. He turned back towards Cas. “No, I need to drive. Otherwise I’ll just fidget the entire way there. Will you…will you come with me, Cas?”

Cas gave him a breathtakingly warm smile and nodded. “Of course I will, Dean.” Dean smiled and started towards the door. They were on their way to meet his long lost sister. His twin.

**SPN**

Nikki was laying underneath a car changing the oil. “Hey yo, Nikki! You about done with that?”

She rolled her eyes as she screwed the oil cap back on, making sure it was on tight. “Yep! Just finished.” She rolled out from underneath the car and wiped her hands on the rag she keeps in her back pocket.

“This one’s done! Next one up!” She walked through the shop with the customer’s keys and into the office area. She reached the desk and handed the receptionist the keys. “Car’s all ready to go. It was the blue cobalt. Let them know it’s ready to go.” The receptionist, Becky, nodded, taking the keys.

Nikki walked back out of the office and into the shop. She went about her day with only one thing on her mind. It was the same thing that was constantly on her mind ever since she found out one month ago: she had a brother. A twin brother to be exact.

Her adopted parents told her everything just before they told her they were moving to Europe. Permanently. They figured they would tell her since they were leaving her with no one and practically nothing.

So she had packed up everything she owned, tracked down her brother, and moved to the same town he was. She had gotten a job at the shop just a few days after moving here and was still trying to get up the courage to actually go talk to her brother.

She didn’t even know if he knew she existed. For all she knew, he had no idea just like she hadn’t. Was it really her place to just go barging into his life bringing a whole ton of drama in her wake? That was the main topic of discussion in her mind. She was always thinking about whether or not to just go talk to him.

And then she had heard about him being kidnapped. A man named Agent Castiel Samuels had shown up at her door asking if she knew anything about him. He had explained to her that her brother had been kidnapped and that they were in the process of locating him.

She had been worried about the brother she didn’t even know until one night she got a phone call from the same man telling her that they had found her brother, that he was alive, and that he was going to be okay.

He had told her where which hospital he was in and everything. And she had gone.

_Nikki walked through the hospital looking for Dean’s room. She had been told at the front desk where to find him, telling them that she was his sister._

_She found his room with little trouble and stood outside his door. The door was wide open since the nurses had been going in and out a lot. She stood a little ways away from the doorway and looked in at her brother._

_He was lying motionless on the hospital bed. His face was a bruised mess and she could tell that he had gone through hell. There was a woman around their age sitting in the chair next to the bed. An older man walked around the bed towards her into Nikki’s line of sight and she could just barely hear their conversation._

_“Come on, Jo. He’s not going to wake up anytime soon. And besides, visiting hours are over. You know the rules better than anyone since you work here. You know we can’t stay since we’re not family.”_

_Jo looked up at the older man with a tired expression. “But we_ are _family, Bobby. We’re all Dean has left, you know that.” Bobby sighed and nodded. “I know, Jo, but I didn’t make the rules.”_

_Jo stood and followed Bobby out of the room. Jo glanced in Nikki’s direction and paused. There was something oddly familiar about her, but Jo couldn’t put her finger on it. Nikki smiled and looked away before it got even more awkward._

_She walked into Dean’s room and sat the in the chair that Jo had just been occupying. She reached up and placed her hand on top of his. Suddenly she felt as if the half of her that she always knew was missing, was suddenly right there. Right in front of her._

_She stayed there with her brother for a couple of hours before she left him. She didn’t feel right staying much longer, let alone being there when he woke up, especially if he didn’t even know she existed._

_Nikki left the hospital telling herself that she would go back and introduce herself after he’d woken up, but she never did._

Nikki leaned against the wall, finally having finished the last car of the day. She wiped the back of her wrist across her sweaty forehead and took a swig of the ice cold beer in her hand.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the man who had come to tell her about her brother’s disappearance. She moved from her spot leaning against the wall and started towards him. He was talking to one of her coworkers and he had turned and made eye contact with her. As she got closer, a man stepped up beside him from behind a wall of tires.

She stopped in her tracks. It was her brother.

Dean turned in the direction that the man was looking and spotted a woman that had a striking resemblance to himself. She had stopped in her tracks and their eyes had locked.

Neither of them moved for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Dean stepped forward until he was standing right in front of her. He was about a couple of inches taller than her. He looked down at her and smiled.

“My name’s Dean. Dean Winchester. You must be Nicole?” Nikki nodded dumbfounded. “Nikki.”

Dean’s smile widened slightly. “Nikki. I recently found out that I had a little sister.”

Nikki rolled her eyes at him. “Little? Please. You’re older by, like, ten minutes.”

Dean chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, but that still makes me the older brother.”

Nikki smiled and suddenly wasn’t sure what to say. “Um…I’m done here for the day. How about we get out of here and grab a burger? I’m starving and could use a drink.”

Dean nodded, his smile growing. “I was actually just thinking the same thing. If you don’t mind, I know the perfect place.” Nikki nodded. “Lead the way, big brother.” Before Dean turned to head out, he looked back at Nikki. “You don’t mind if Cas comes too, do you?”

She leaned around Dean and looked at the man who had come with him. He was watching them warily, not sure what was going on. She smiled and looked back up at her brother. “That’s fine by me. That’s the guy who came and found me.” Dean nodded as he turned and they started back towards Cas. “So I’ve been told.”

Nikki followed Dean and Cas out of the shop and into the parking lot. Dean stopped and leaned against his ride. It was a nice ’67 Chevy Impala, black. She let out a long, low whistle. “Now isn’t she a beauty.”

Dean’s face was practically glowing. “She sure is. Rebuilt her from the ground up a couple of times. Still runs like a champ.”

Nikki ran her hand along the side of the car, only glancing up at Dean when he mentioned rebuilding her. “You rebuilt her?”

Dean nodded, folding his arms across his chest. “You bet. Dad taught me everything I know. She’s been in a couple of scrapes in the past few years and I’ve brought her back.”

Nikki was practically vibrating with excitement. She’s finally reconnecting with her long lost twin, they look a lot alike besides their hair color, they both know their way around a car inside and out…what else could they have in common?

“I say we take your car. I really wanna take a ride in her. If you don’t mind, that is.” Dean was just as excited as Nikki was and he nodded. “Fine by me.”

Cas immediately moved to the backseat and got in allowing Nikki to sit in the front with her brother.

Dean glanced into the rearview mirror and his eyes met Cas’s. He was really glad that he had Cas now. He wasn’t sure how he would have recovered as quickly as he had without that man. Let alone find the sister he never knew he had or his mom.

He owed a lot to Cas and he was determined to show Cas just how grateful he was. 


	6. Road Trip!

**Chapter 6**

They walked into the Roadhouse to find it practically empty. It was around lunchtime so everyone was at work. They had the place to themselves save a couple of bar junkies.

Jo didn't have to work at the hospital until that night, so her and Ash were playing a game of pool, drinking a couple of beers.

When the door opened, everyone turned to see if they knew who had come in. Jo's face lit up when she saw Dean walk through the door. Ellen walked in from the back and smiled as well when she saw him. "Dean! It's about damn time you came to see me! How you doin', Dean?" Ellen walked around the bar and gave Dean a tight, motherly hug.

Dean smiled and returned the hug just as tight. "I'm good. Better than a couple of weeks ago, that's for sure." Ellen pulled back and smiled up at him. She noticed people behind him and turned to see who had joined them. "You're Agent Samuels, right? Can we help you with something?"

Dean smiled again, turning back to Ellen. "He's with me, Ellen. That's Cas." Ellen looked up at Dean with a knowing look in her eye. She immediately knew what that meant and she was happy for him. "Okay, so who's this lovely young woman then? Obviously she's not your girlfriend, so…?"

Dean turned back around and looked at Nikki. "Ellen, this is my sister, Nikki. She's my twin. Nikki, this is Ellen. Mother hen."

Nikki smiled and stepped forward, extending her hand towards Ellen. "It's nice to meet you." Ellen was in shock. She took Nikki's hand and shook it slowly before looking back up at Dean. "Your sister? I didn't know you had a sister."

Dean nodded, "Neither did I. But here she is. Jo! Ash! Get over here!"

Jo and Ash joined them by the bar and Dean made the proper introductions. Jo narrowed her eyes at Nikki. "Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?"

Nikki blushed slightly and nodded. "From the hospital." Recognition swept across Jo's face as she remembered seeing her one day while Dean was in the hospital. By the way the girl had reacted, she figured that Dean didn't know that she'd gone to see him.

"That's right. The hospital." Dean looked back and forth between the two of them with confusing clearly written across his face. Ellen turned to Dean, placing a hand on his arm. "So, Bobby told me that they found your mom. What are you going to do?"

Dean looked down at his hands, thinking about it for a moment. Nikki had turned her attention back to Dean and frowned in confusion. "What do you mean they found her? Has she been missing?"

Dean looked up at her with a glint of sadness in his eyes. "In a way, I guess. She took off when I was six. I haven't seen her since." Nikki's eyes widened. She had figured that Dean had grown up with their parents. Nothing had been mentioned about them, so she had just figured that's what had happened.

Before she could say anything, Dean continued. "It was about a month after Sammy was born. I came home from school one day and found a note from her to Dad. It said she took Sammy and left. Said she couldn't handle it anymore, that her heart was too broken. I never understood what she meant, hell I still don't. We never saw her again. Dad raised me on his own."

Nikki nodded, picturing what life must have been like for him having to grow up with the knowledge that his mother had left him. That she had taken his little brother and just left. "So then where's Dad?" Dean glanced down at his hands before looking back up at her.

"He disappeared ten years ago. No one's seen him since." Nikki's mouth dropped open. "So it's just been you for the past ten years?"

Dean smirked and shook his head. "I thought it would be like that when he went missing, but when I went looking for him, I stumbled across some people who became a better family than I'd had since I was a kid." He looked over at Ellen and gave her a small smile. Tears came to her eyes and she pulled Dean into a hug. "And don't you forget Bobby. He's been more of a father than John was for years."

Dean chuckled and nodded. "There's no forgetting that man. It's true, he has been more of a father. Dad tried, but raising me as a single parent was just too hard. He tried his best." Ellen smiled and nodded. "And he did a damn fine job, if I do say so. Anyways, enough of this touchy-feely crap. Y'all hungry? I'll whip up some burgers."

She left the group to cook them all some lunch. Ash reached around to the other side of the bar and grabbed beers for all of them. "Beer for everyone!" Jo rolled her eyes and took the beer.

Nikki took a long swig of her beer and turned to look at Jo and Ash. "So, tell me about my brother. I want to hear some embarrassing stories."

Dean rolled his eyes and muttered, "Oh this should be good…"

Jo jumped into a story about how Dean had gotten so drunk one night and fell off a bank, into a river. She described how he scrambled out of the water yelling about how cold it was while being covered from head to toe in mud.

"Oh man, it was priceless! I laughed so hard I almost peed myself!" Nikki couldn't help but laugh with Jo as she turned to look at her brother. "You fell into a river?" Dean blushed slightly, but smirked. "Yeah, I was drunk. Haven't had that much fun in a while. I have a feeling it'll be time to get a bit happy here soon."

Cas snorted and rolled his eyes. He was looking forward to seeing Dean drunk. He seemed like the type to be a happy drunk, and that was his favorite kind.

Dean glanced over at Cas and gave him a small smile, thinking the exact same. He was looking forward to getting Cas a bit drunk, just to see what would happen.

Nikki watched the two give each other a private look. She wasn't sure, but she was starting to get the vibe that they were together. Not that she had a problem with that. If her brother was happy, then she was happy for him. She really didn't care if he was gay.

Dean looked away from Cas, taking a long swig from his beer, relishing the taste of it. It'd been too long since he had a beer and he had missed the taste.

Ellen came back with their burgers and fries after a couple more stories were shared about Dean doing something stupidly embarrassing.

The bar was swallowed into silence as they all dug into their meals, savoring every bite. Cas had never had a burger that tasted as good as the Roadhouse burger did. Dean watched with an amused look on his face as Cas showed signs of pleasure with each bite of his sandwich.

He chuckled around his own sandwich and finished off his beer.

After they finished their meals, Jo and Ash went back to their game of pool, inviting Nikki, Dean, and Cas to join them. Before they walked over with the group, Nikki pulled Dean aside to have a quick word with him.

She pulled on his sleeve and led him over to an isolated section of the bar. Dean looked down at her, "What's up?"

Nikki frowned, letting go of Dean's sleeve. "Back there Ellen said that they found our Mom? I don't know about you, but…I want to meet her. I don't want to sound like a bitch or anything, but you have memories of her and I don't. I didn't get that chance."

Dean nodded, understanding why she wanted to meet their mom. "I want to also. I was talking to Cas earlier about it. She lives in California though. I'm on leave from work for a couple more weeks, but I can't go alone. I was going to ask Cas if he would come with me."

Nikki nodded, coming up with a plan of her own. "I'll ask off of work. I'm going with you."

A small smile played at the corners of Dean's lips. He nodded in understanding and placed a hand on her arm. "I figured you would. You might want to ask off for a week. That's what I'm going to tell Cas if he decides to come."

Nikki nodded, her face lighting up at the thought that she was finally going to meet her real mom after all these years.

They joined the rest of their group and had a good time playing rounds after rounds of pool.

**SPN**

The next couple of days was spent asking for time off of work for both Cas and Nikki and getting things prepared for their big road trip across a couple of state lines.

They had everything all planned out. They would leave bright and early the next morning and they would be taking the impala, of course. Dean couldn't go on a trip like this without his baby. There was just no way that was happening.

Dean was standing by his bed attempting to pack the last of his clothes into the duffel bag, but he kept falling asleep on his feet.

Cas walked into the bedroom and found Dean swaying slightly with his eyes closed, snoring softly. He chuckled to himself and went to Dean's side. He placed a hand on his arm, startling him awake.

Dean jumped and his eyes swept around and locked onto Cas's. "Damn it, Cas! You about gave me a heart attack! Don't sneak up on me like that."

Cas tried to hide the smile that threatened to light up his face. "I did not sneak up on you, Dean. You fell asleep. Standing up."

A blush slowly crept up Dean's throat and onto his cheeks. "Oh." Cas sat down on the bed, pulling Dean down with him. "Have you not been sleeping well, Dean?"

Dean looked down at his hands and frowned. "Not really, no. I haven't been able to sleep ever since I got out of the hospital."

Cas entwined his fingers with Dean's and gave them a small squeeze, reassuring him. "Why can't you sleep?"

Dean squirmed a little bit, not wanting to sound like a chick. He didn't want to sound weak in front of the guy he was trying to impress.

"It's no big deal really. I'm sure it'll get better."

Cas's eyes narrowed slightly and he leaned closer to Dean. "Dean, you know you can tell me anything. It won't make you sound weak, you know." A smile tried to work its way onto Dean's face as he thought that Cas had just read his mind.

He sighed and took a deep breath before letting Cas in on why he hadn't been sleeping very well. "It's just that…I get worried is all. I'll lay down and just before I fall asleep, I wake up. And then I panic thinking I forgot to lock the door, or the windows. And it'll just keep happening through the night."

Cas nodded, trying to find the right words so as not to scare Dean into clamming up about what's wrong. "You're worried that Jake will come back."

Dean tensed slightly and Cas knew that he was right. Dean was scared that he would be thrown right back into that building with the man who had tortured him. Cas let go of Dean's hand and instead wrapped his arms around Dean's waist, pulling him into Cas's chest.

Dean rested his head on Cas's shoulder, secretly loving the feeling of being held. Not that he would ever admit that to anyone.

"I'm scared, Cas. I'm scared that he'll come back. I'm scared to fall asleep. Every time I close my eyes, I'm back in that building and he's circling me. Cas…I'm scared to be alone."

Cas tightened his hold on Dean and leaned down so that his mouth was just about Dean's ear. He whispered to Dean, "He's not coming back. I've made sure of that. I'm right here, Dean. I'll watch over you."

Dean hated feeling so weak, it went against every fiber in his being, but with Cas it didn't feel as bad. "Thanks, Cas." Cas smiled and rested his head on Dean's. "You are welcome, Dean. If you want me to, I will stay here tonight so you can get a good night's sleep. You will be the one driving afterall. You need some sleep so you don't fall asleep at the wheel."

Dean nodded into his shoulder, trying to hide the yawn that was making its way up his throat. He was unsuccessful and Cas chuckled. "Get some sleep, Dean. You can finish packing in the morning. You have basically everything packed, so it won't take long."

"Only if you're coming to bed too." Cas chuckled once more and nodded as he stood, helping Dean to his feet. He pulled Dean's bag off of the bed, setting it down by the wall, and started to help Dean out of his layers of clothing. Dean squirmed a bit and looked up at Cas.

"You know…if you wanted to get me out of my clothes and into bed, you'd have to at least buy me dinner first."

Cas rolled his eyes and continued helping him out of his clothes, leaving him in only his boxers and an undershirt.

"Maybe one day, Dean. You never know." Cas winked at Dean as he circled the bed, stripped down to his own boxers and undershirt, and crawled into the bed beside Dean.

Dean pulled Cas into his arms and settled down for the night with the blue-eyed man he'd vowed to get to know better: his angel.

**SPN**

Cas woke to something rough yet oddly soft pressing against his forehead. He pretended to still be asleep for a moment before he cracked his eyes open just the slightest and saw that Dean was leaning over him, kissing his forehead.

He could hear Dean humming very softly under his breath a tune he recognized as Eye of the Tiger. Cas watched as Dean pulled away from him smiling and got off the bed to get ready for the day.

Once Dean had left the room, Cas opened his eyes the rest of the way and glanced over at the clock. It read that they had two hours before they were to be at Nikki's apartment to pick her up before leaving town.

Today was the day of their big road trip to find Mary and Sam.

Cas smiled at the memory of Dean's lips pressed against his forehead and rolled out of bed. He didn't bother getting dressed as he left the bedroom in search of some coffee.

By the time he reached the small kitchen, Cas could already smell the coffee being made and hear the sounds of Dean getting out two mugs.

Dean turned around as Cas entered the kitchen and smiled. "Morning, sunshine. I didn't wake you, did I?" For a moment, worry lines appeared on his face as he was afraid that he'd accidentally awoken the sleeping man that had slept in his arms all night.

Cas smiled and shook his head, taking a seat on one of the stools by the island. "No worries. My phone vibrated and it woke me up just a moment ago. And then I smelled the coffee."

Dean nodded and turned back to what he was doing by the stove. "How do you like your eggs? I'm makin' breakfast."

The smile that was playing at Cas's lips widened as he watched his green-eyed man make him breakfast after having kissed him softly on the forehead. He didn't know how he'd gotten so lucky.

"Whatever way you make them will be just fine. I'm not that picky." Dean snorted and rolled his eyes as he continued to make breakfast. "Okay, it'll be about ten minutes or so."

Cas nodded, standing up. "I'm going to grab a quick shower then if you don't mind?"

Dean looked at him over his shoulder and laughed. "Well, I'd rather you not stink up my car. Towels are in the cabinet next to the shower."

He nodded as he made his way out of the kitchen. He hadn't brought any of his stuff with him since he hadn't figured he'd be spending the night.

Cas quickly rummaged through a couple of Dean's drawers looking for a clean shirt to wear. He didn't think he would mind if Cas borrowed a pair of his boxers and a shirt. He really didn't care about wearing his jeans twice. He hadn't gotten them dirty anyway. And besides, Dean was a bit taller than Cas so the jeans wouldn't have fit him anyway.

He grabbed the clothes and went into the bathroom for his shower.

Ten minutes later, he stepped out of the bathroom with steam rolling out of the doorway. He made his way down the hall into the kitchen and was hit by the smell of bacon.

Cas's mouth immediately began to water as he took a deep breath, inhaling the glorious smell of bacon in the morning. He sat down where he had been sitting before his shower and turned to watch as Dean made Cas a plate.

Dean walked over to him, leaned over his shoulder, and set it down in front of him. He paused before he turned to get his own plate and looked down at Cas, who was sitting below him still.

"Is that my shirt?" A small blush creeped up Cas's face as he nodded slightly. "I hope you don't mind…I didn't think I'd be staying, so I didn't bring any of my stuff with me."

Dean chuckled as he wrapped his arms around Cas's waist, pulling Cas towards him slightly, trying not to pull him off of the stool. He leaned down farther and kissed the side of Cas's neck, pulling a small groan out of his throat.

"And you smell like me." The blush was slowly growing darker as Dean teased him. "Yes, I hope you don't mind that either."

Dean planted another kiss on the side of Cas's neck. "I don't mind at all. Actually, it's kind of hot."

Dean pulled away before Cas could do anything, sending him a wink before he went to get his own breakfast. "Eat up, don't want it getting cold." Cas took a deep breath to calm himself and turned around to start on his breakfast.

Dean walked around and set his food down on the other side of the island. "Want anything to drink? I think I've got orange juice…" Cas nodded around a bite of scrambled eggs. He couldn't stop the deep moan that escaped his lips. Around the eggs he managed to say, "These are amazing, Dean. Where did you learn to cook?"

It was Dean's turn to blush as he set a glass of orange juice in front of Cas before sitting down to eat his own food.

"My dad taught me when I was a kid. With him being gone a lot for jobs, I kind of had to fend for myself a lot. I was sick of just eating cereal and canned soup all the time, so I asked him to teach me how to actually cook something. And he did. So, I've been cooking for years. Not a big baker though. Never nailed that one."

Cas chuckled as he continued to eat his breakfast. They ate in silence for the most part, both thoroughly enjoying their food too much to talk. When they both finished, Cas sent Dean off to get ready and finish packing while he did the dishes.

Of course Dean tried to protest about his guest doing the dishes in his own apartment, but Cas insisted since it was Dean that made the breakfast and since he still had to finish packing anyway. In the end, Cas won and Dean went to take a quick shower, shave, and finish what he'd been trying to get done last night before he'd fallen asleep on his feet.

By the time they were both ready to go, they only had half an hour before they were supposed to be at Nikki's and they still had to stop by Cas's place and pick up his bags.

They rolled into Nikki's driveway with a minute to spare. She was sitting on a porch swing enjoying the nice day and smiled when she saw the impala.

She picked up her bags and walked towards the car as Dean jumped out to open the trunk. "Morning, boys. Late night?"

Dean glanced up at her with a look that read,  _How much do you know?_  Nikki laughed and shook her head. "Good ole Cas is wearing your shirt, big brother. Or what I'm assuming is your shirt since I don't see him owning an ACDC shirt."

A blush made its way up Dean's throat as he hauled Nikki's bags into the trunk and closed it. He rolled his eyes as she continued to chuckle.

The drive to California was rather uneventful. Cas and Nikki would take a nap every now and then and Dean would just keep on driving. At one point he had almost fallen asleep since he'd been driving for nearly an entire day at that point, having refused to stop for the night. Cas had insisted that he take over for awhile and allow Dean to get a few hours of sleep.

It only took them a day and a half to finally roll into the small town that Mary and Sam had called home for almost the entirety of Sam's life.

"Okay, we're going to find a motel and get a room. Then we're going to get some lunch because I'm starving. Any objections?"

Dean glanced away from the road and over to Cas who shook his head. Then he glanced into the rearview mirror and watched as Nikki also shook her head.

"Okay, it's settled then."

Dean pulled into the parking lot of a little Super 8 motel and parked near the office. He stepped out, made sure he had his wallet, and then proceeded towards the office to get them a room.

Cas and Nikki watched as he walked into the office and got them a room to stay in for the week they'd be there.

"So, Cas, you two are dating, right?" Cas twisted in his seat slightly to get a look at her face. "I suppose we are, yes. Why do you ask?"

A smile lit up her face as she shook her head. "Oh no reason. I was just wondering if you were the one making my brother smile. And it's been confirmed, so congrats."

Cas blushed slightly. "Is this where you go into the whole spiel about if I hurt your brother, you'll hurt me?" Nikki grinned from ear to ear. "Of course it is! I mean, I like you and all, but dude, he's my big brother. Someone's gotta have his back. So, just don't hurt him, and I won't break your arm."

Cas rolled his eyes, but nodded. "You've got a deal, Nikki." She opened her door as Dean returned with two room keys in his hands. He handed one to Nikki as she stepped out of the impala.

"We're in room 125. Here's the other key they gave me. Let's get our bags into the room."

Cas got out as well. They carried their bags into their room and set everything down. Cas looked around the room, not that impressed, but not disgusted either. It could most definitely be worse. Much, much worse.

Nikki checked everything out and then looked back at Dean. "Well, I'm starving, but I'm also tired as hell. So, I suggest that I go grab us some burgers or something from that little diner a block down and we just chill here and relax for awhile. Sound good?"

Dean looked over at Cas, who nodded, and turned back to Nikki. "Sounds great. Bacon cheeseburger, fries, and a slice of apple pie if they have any for me. Cas?"

Nikki looked over at Cas, mentally logging their order. "Um…same as Dean." Nikki nodded. "Okay, I'll be back soon." Dean went to toss her the keys, but she shook her head. "No worries, bro. It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining, and it's only a block away. I'm good with walking. See y'all soon."

Dean chuckled as Nikki left the room. Cas carried his bag over to the closet they had and set it down on the floor.

As Cas was bending over, Dean took that opportunity to appreciate the view. Suddenly, Cas's shirt slid up his back and revealed the band of his boxers. Or rather the pair of boxers he'd borrowed from Dean. Dean recognized them instantly and knew that Cas had borrowed them.

He walked up behind Cas, wrapped his arms around his waist, swung him around and pinned him up against the wall. He leaned down and whispered into his ear, "I hope my boxers are comfortable on you."

A blush creeped up Cas's throat and onto his cheeks as his eyes widened. "I hope it isn't a problem that I borrowed a pair. I didn't really want to wear mine two days in a row."

Dean chuckled and kissed the side of Cas's neck, pulling another groan out of Cas. "I don't mind at all. I like the idea of you wearing them. It's hot."

Cas chuckled and was about to say something before realization struck him. "Wait a second, you were checking me out, weren't you?"

Dean paused for a moment from kissing Cas's neck and then resumed, mumbling, "Maybe. Is that a problem?"

Cas ran his hands up the back of Dean's shirt, pulling it up slightly, but keeping his hands there. "Maybe. I might just have to arrest you for checking out a federal agent."

Suddenly Dean's pants seemed to be just a little too tight. He groaned. "Damn, Cas. You would say that when we don't have any time."

A smile started to pull at Cas's lips and he decided to tease Dean a bit. "Time for what, Dean? For me to arrest you and handcuff you to the bed while we wait for reinforcements?"

Another groan escaped Dean's lips. "There'll be no need for reinforcements. I'm a real handful, but I bet you can take care of it."

It was Cas's turn to let a groan slip out of his mouth. "Dean, why did you only get one room? That was a very foolish idea."

Cas could feel Dean smile against his throat before he pulled away to look into Cas's eyes. "Why's that, Cas? Did you have something in mind?"

Before Cas could answer, Dean pressed his lips against Cas's. The kiss started out slow, but quickly turned passionate as the two of them explored each other's mouths. After what seemed like only a moment, but was actually quite a few minutes, they both pulled away for air, breathing heavily.

"We should probably stop before this gets too heated since Nikki will be back soon." Cas nodded, not able to find his voice quite yet.

Dean smiled down at his angel. "That sure was one hell of a first kiss though, if I do say so myself." Cas's entire face lit up as he nodded. "I agree, Dean. It was one hell of a kiss indeed."

Dean stood there with his forehead pressed against Cas's and Cas in his arms. They were just staring into each other's eyes, trying to calm their racing heartbeats. Ocean blue eyes staring deeply into forest green ones and vice versa. They stayed like that for awhile, just relishing in the closeness of the other, until they heard Nikki approaching.

Dean unwrapped his arms and stepped away after landing a quick peck on Cas's lips to hold them both over until they were alone again.


	7. The Truth Comes Out

**Chapter 7**

They ate their burgers in silence as they savored every bite. Once they were done, Dean felt in desperate need of a nap. He laid back on the bed, folded one arm underneath his head, rested his other hand on his chest and closed his eyes.

A hand landed on his shin, making him open his eyes the slightest. “I’m going to take a quick shower.” Dean smiled at Cas, nodding his head for him to go ahead. “I’ll be here.”

Cas smiled as Dean’s eyes closed once more. Nikki was lounging on the bed closest to the door watching some tv. Cas figured Dean would be fine with Nikki sitting there. He should be able to get some sleep since he wasn’t alone. “I’ll take one after you, Cas, so leave me some hot water!” Cas threw a smile in Nikki’s direction as if to say, “I’ll try!”

He got up and walked into the bathroom. Nikki watched him walk out of the room out of the corner of her eye and she smiled. It was obvious how much he cared for her brother. She glanced over at her brother and noticed that his eyes were slightly open, focused on the screen.

“I can turn it off if you can’t sleep with it on. I don’t mind.” Dean turned his head towards her and smiled. “Nah, I’m good. Just trying to relax enough to actually fall asleep. The tv doesn’t bother me.”

Nikki nodded and turned back to the show she was watching. She kept an eye on him out of the corner of his eye to see how long it took him to actually fall asleep.

The room was silent for a few minutes before suddenly Dean was sitting up, his eyes wide. His breathing was coming in short spurts and he had one hand rubbing his chest like it was hard for him to breathe.

Nikki jumped off her bed and was at Dean’s side in seconds. “Dean, what’s wrong? What’s going on?”

He shook his head, his eyes shutting tight. He was having a hard time breathing and he was shaking. He stood up to try to get more oxygen to his lungs, but his knees gave out. Nikki helped him sit on the floor leaning against the bed.

Dean had his knees tucked almost to his chest and his head resting on them, still not able to breathe properly. Nikki was starting to panic. “Cas!...Cas!” She heard the water shut off as she started to rub Dean’s back, trying to help him calm down. She was pretty certain at this point that he was having a panic attack.

A moment later Cas came running out of the bathroom only wearing jeans and water running down from his wet hair. He spotted the two of them sitting on the floor and Nikki’s worried look as she rubbed Dean’s back.

Cas was by Dean’s side faster than he thought he could move. He placed a hand on Dean’s shoulder and the other hand on his leg. “Dean? Dean, what’s going on?”

Suddenly oxygen was slowly being allowed to enter Dean’s lungs and his shaking started to subside. Cas wrapped an arm around Dean’s shoulders and held him against him. It seemed to help Dean if he knew that Cas was close.

“Dean, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay.” Dean nodded slowly, taking deep breathes. Cas looked up at Nikki. “He’s going to be okay. There’s nothing to worry about.” She nodded, still not convinced that he was okay.

As if Dean had read her mind, his voice trailed out from where he was still curled in on himself. “He’s right, Nikki. I’m fine.” She nodded, biting her lip. “I’ll go take my shower then. If you need anything, yell. Okay?”

Dean nodded as did Cas. She got up and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Once the door was shut, Cas turned back to Dean, focusing all of his attention back to him.

“Dean, what happened?” It took him a few moments to be able to form a complete sentence since his mind was still muddled.

“I fell asleep. And then I woke up.” Cas nodded, pulling Dean in tighter. “Is this what happens every time you try to sleep? You have a panic attack?”

Dean nodded, not trusting his voice. Cas rested his head against Dean’s, trying to figure out how to handle it. “Nikki was sitting nearby, but you still had a panic attack. I have a theory about that.”

Dean pulled his head up finally and looked into Cas’s eyes, clearly intrigued and interested in his theory.

“When you were back in that building, Dean, I was the last thing that you saw before you blacked out, wasn’t I?” Dean nodded slowly, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

“I think your subconscious has related me, seeing me, or being near me, to being safe. I was the one you saw when we saved you. I was the one who pulled you out of that building and away from Jake. That was your own personal hell, correct?”

Dean nodded once more, realization starting to sink in. “That being said, in a way, I raised you from perdition. I raised you from your own form of perdition on Earth. So when you’re most vulnerable like you were back in that building, your subconscious reaches out for what saved you, for what it views as safety. That’s me, Dean. And I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying right here and I’m going to keep you safe.”

A tear slipped down Dean’s cheek before he could stop it. Cas reached up and wiped it away with the tip of his thumb. Dean struggled to get his voice under control so he didn’t sound weaker than he felt. “Thanks, Cas.”

Cas leaned his forehead against Dean’s and stared deeply into the forest green eyes that he loved staring into. “Don’t feel weak, Dean. You’ve been through a very traumatic experience and you’re handling it a lot better than most people would. I’ve seen many different reactions to traumatic experiences and I’m thoroughly impressed by how you’re handling it. It does make me worry that you’re bottling up all of your emotions like you seem to do, but if that were the case, I imagine you would have exploded by now.”

Dean gave him a small smile. “This is me, Cas. I hide my emotions behind a brick wall because it’s easier than putting them on display. I come with baggage, I’ll admit it. Hell, you just travelled across two state lines to help me deal with some of that baggage.”

“I know, Dean. And yet I’m still here.” The smile on Dean’s face widened the slightest bit. “When I’m with you, the wall comes down a little bit every time. It’s like…I don’t know. I’m not good with words, Cas, so you’ll have to bear with me.”

Cas nodded. “I know. And when I look into your eyes, Dean, it’s like I’m looking into your soul. I know the words you struggle to say, so there’s no reason to berate yourself for it. And I’m not going anywhere, so there’s no need to worry. We have time. There’s no need to rush anything.”

Dean took that as his cue. He leaned forward and pressed their lips together. Somewhere in the back of his mind he heard the shower turn off and then the bathroom door open a few minutes later but the thought didn’t travel to the functioning part of his brain.

Nikki leaned against the doorway of the bathroom with a big grin on her face as she saw her big brother kissing his boyfriend. She couldn’t help but thinking how cute of a couple they made and couldn’t wait to watch their relationship grow.

**SPN**

The rest of the day the group spent around the motel room relaxing and making fun of each other playfully. Dean and Nikki took advantage of their down time and used it to get to know each other, get comfortable around each other, and learn to trust each other.

Dean has always had a hard time trusting anyone, but with Nikki it just came naturally. He just chalked it up to her being his little sister. That night before they went to bed, Nikki looked over at her brother. “So…not to be a Debbie downer or anything, but when do you suppose we’re going to…um…you know, investigate and show up randomly at our long lost mother’s door after years and years of having nothing to do with her?” Dean rolled his eyes at her lack of subtlety, but couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face at her eagerness.

“Tomorrow after breakfast. Now go to sleep. We don’t want you looking like a damn raccoon when we meet our long lost mother whom we haven’t seen for years and years.” It was Nikki’s turn to roll her eyes, but she rolled over and was soon engulfed in sleep.

Dean chuckled at her as he got comfortable on the bed he shared with Cas. Cas was already halfway asleep as Dean pulled him into his arms.

He kissed Cas’s forehead and whispered softly into his ear, “Go to sleep, my angel.” That was the last thing Cas heard as he drifted off to sleep.

The next morning was particularly uneventful as they each showered, got ready, and then headed out for breakfast. As they sat around the table in the small diner they had gotten lunch from the day before, they discussed the best way to meet Mary.

Cas pulled out his laptop that he had brought in with him and logged into the FBI database with his personal identification. “I had Balthazar send me all the information he could find on her. From what he sent me, it looks like she normally works from home so that’s where she should be. She drives a white four door chevy cruze and lives alone.”

Dean nodded absentmindedly as he finished off the last bites off his piece of apple pie. “What about Sammy?”

Cas scrolled and searched through the database for the youngest Winchester. “He’s a lawyer. And he has recently gotten engaged.”

Dean paused from bringing his fork to his mouth and turned towards Cas. “The FBI database tells you when someone’s gotten engaged?”

Cas peeled his eyes away from the screen and locked on the set of green ones. “No. Balthazar hired a private investigator. I told him it was unnecessary, but he did it anyway. He just e-mailed me with the information the investigator found.”

“Oh. Well, let’s hear it. What did the private eye find?” Cas turned back to his laptop and continued to scroll through the findings.

“It seems there’s a lot of information here, but I do not know how much of it is useful. It seems that he found that Sam Winchester’s favorite color is green, he has a dog named Riot, he broke his arm when he was ten because of a dare. His favorite sandwich shop is-.” “Okay, I take it back. We don’t really need to know all of that now. Maybe later we can go through that list of yours, but for now…”

Dean stopped midsentence as he spotted something on the other side of the parking lot that made him freeze. His fork slipped from his fingers and clattered onto the plate making both Cas and Nikki jump and turn in his direction.

Dean had his mouth hanging open, his eyes narrowed slightly, and was leaning forward an inch before he was suddenly up out of his seat and heading for the door.

Cas and Nikki quickly picked up their stuff, paid for their food, and rushed after Dean who was already halfway across the parking lot and moving fast.

There was a moment of pause as the world seemed to stand still for Dean. He froze a car length away, not sure what to do. Her eyes lifted from the person she was talking to and froze, smile half falling from her face.

The woman Mary was talking to noticed and turned around, seeing Dean for the first time. The world was at a standstill as mother and son stared deep into each other’s eyes for the first time in many, many years. Sharp, forest green eyes met the intensity of the hazel ones. “Dean.”

It was one word. One word that was muttered under breath that was barely being contained. The woman seemed to understand what was going, but in actuality had no idea what was going on. There was no way she could have understood because Mary hadn’t breathed a word about her oldest son or her daughter since the day she walked away from that life. It was too painful to allow just the name of the children missing from her life to slip past her lips.

The woman beside her was in fact her best friend, but Mary hadn’t allowed her that deep into her past. She couldn’t allow such an awful truth to be pulled into her present. The same awful truth that had swallowed her whole and practically devoured her soul for years after she took her youngest child and ran. Ran from the heartache, the disappointment, the responsibility she once had for her son and husband.

It was the same awful truth that was staring deep into her soul at that very moment. “Mom?”

It was phrased as a question because Dean wasn’t sure if he was imagining things or if she was standing in front of him staring back. He knew he shouldn’t be surprised since he had driven here to find her, but the reality of it all hit him hard and fast in that moment. His lips parted but no sound came out. What do you say to the mother that ran out on you?

“Dean…What…” Mary’s friend silently left the two, backing away from the scene knowing that it was to be a private moment and determined to get all the juicy details later. Mary took a hesitating step towards her son, not even registering the two people who had appeared a short distance behind Dean.

His feet were rooted to the ground, unable to move even the slightest bit. The only movement he was able to manage was the shaking of his limbs as he watched his mother slowly approach him. Suddenly she was right in front of him, placing her hand on his cheek. “Dean. Am I imagining this? How did…How did you find me?”

Suddenly his vocal chords seemed to be able to work again. “Cas. What…why?” Tears sprang to her eyes as he asked the question that had been on his mind since that day he had come home to an empty house. He would repeat it like a mantra. Why? Why did she leave? Why did she leave me? Why? Why? Why…

Silent tears slipped down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around her son for the first time in over two decades. “I’m sorry, Dean. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” The words kept tumbling from her lips repeatedly. That’s all she seemed able to do was repeat those words over and over again.

At first, he didn’t respond to her touch. He was still frozen like a statue. A few moments later, he slowly raised his arms and wrapped them around her small frame. Once his arms were around her, he couldn’t hold it in any longer. All the years he spent building up rage and frustration against his mother simply melted away for that moment as his arms tightened around her, refusing to let her go.

The words were still being softly repeated into his ear until he nodded against her shoulder, silencing her. They remained that way; glued together until they both gathered the energy and strength to face everything head on.

Dean pulled away and looked down at his mother. “Hi Mom.” A choked laugh escaped her lips as she wiped away tears frantically. “Hi baby. I’m so glad…I don’t know what to say.”

A smile finally pulled its way onto his face slowly as he started to unfreeze and begin to feel the  world around them again. Time began moving once more and he realized that Cas and Nikki were standing behind them, watching.

He pulled back just the slightest bit, glancing back at Nikki. He caught her eye and subtly motioned for her to join them. Once Nikki was standing next to him, he let his mother go, meeting her eye once more.

“Mom, this is-.” “Nikki.” The word came out the same way as it had when Mary had spoken Dean’s name that first time. Just a slight puff of air under her breath carrying the unmistakable note of her name. Their eyes locked.

Nikki’s eyes were the mixture of Mary’s and Dean’s. They were lighter, giving them that look of hazel, but at the right angle you could see the forest green standing out.

Time didn’t quite freeze this time for either of them, but neither knew quite what to do. “Am I imagining this? My daughter…my little girl…” Tears sprang from Mary’s eyes once more, covering her cheeks.

Distantly, they heard her phone ringing from her car, but they all ignored it. Mary took a hesitant step towards her daughter. “I can’t believe it…In all my wildest dreams. I knew that I would see Dean again, but…I thought you were beyond hope.”

Nikki’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she broke the link between her and her mother and looked up to her brother. With a slight shrug of his shoulders, she turned back to Mary. “Beyond hope? Mom, what do you mean?”

Mary placed a hand on Nikki’s cheek tentatively. “I never got the chance…How about we go someplace and talk? Somewhere more private than a parking lot?”

Nikki nodded, turning to look up at Dean. “Where?” Mary took a step away from her children, turning just the slightest bit towards her car. “My house. You can follow me there.”

He nodded before forcing his feet into action. He forced them to take him across the parking lot to his baby and climb in.

Cas hadn’t said a word since Dean had left the diner, but he climbed into the impala next to Dean. Once the car was started, Dean let his hand fall down onto the seat next to him where Cas quickly threaded their fingers together and squeezed reassuringly.

**SPN**

The drive to Mary’s house had been slow, but they were finally all at her house, sitting in her living room silently as she got them something to drink.

Dean refused to let go of Cas’s hand. He needed all the support he could get at that moment and that meant having Cas as close to him as possible.

Mary walked into the room with four steaming cups of coffee and set them down on the table, taking her cup with her as she moved to sit down on one of the chairs. The three of them were seated next to each other on the couch gathering strength from each other.

“So…where to begin?” Nikki’s head swiveled in the direction of her mother, but stayed silent. It was Dean who spoke up. “How about you tell us why you left not only me, but Nikki too. Why neither of us were allowed to grow up with our mother.”

Mary flinched at his words, but refused to let her voice waver. “I didn’t leave Nikki. You should know that…Hasn’t John told you about that?”

Dean’s eyes locked with Mary’s. “He disappeared ten years ago.”

The room fell silent with the only sound coming from Mary as she took in a sharp breath. She raised a hand to her mouth and shook her head silently as if the sheer movement would allow her mind to let the information sink in.

“I’m sorry, Dean. That must have been awful.” A small smile appeared on Dean’s lips. “On the contrary, I found people who were more of a family than my real family ever was. So, I guess it turned out alright.”

Mary didn’t quite know what to say to her son. It was obvious that he was still in a great deal of pain from her leaving so long ago and she didn’t blame him in the slightest.

“I guess I should get on with the story then…since your father was unable to.” Mary took a deep breath and steadied herself before she launched into her tale.

“We were at the hospital. I was in labor. Your father was right by my side the entire time. When you were born, Dean, the nurse laid you in my arms and you looked up at me with big curious eyes that were already changing colors. You rested your little hand on my cheek and I thought that I was the luckiest woman alive. They took you away to get cleaned up once it was time for Nikki to come into the world about ten minutes later. I didn’t take my eyes off of you until you were out of the room, I couldn’t stop looking at my beautiful baby boy. And then I saw my baby girl. My beautiful little Nikki. I couldn’t keep tears from my eyes as I watched them check you to make sure you were okay and then set you down into my arms the way they had done with Dean. The first thing you did when you were put into my arms was let out the most beautiful laugh I had ever heard. After what seemed like only a few moments, but was actually several minutes I came to find out, your father noticed how tired I was getting and took you from my arms. He held you for a couple of moments, staring down adoringly at you, before handing you to one of the nurses to get you cleaned up with placed with your brother.”

She paused in her story as she glanced down at her hands briefly before looking back up at her fully-grown children sitting across from her. There were tears in her eyes as she continued.

“That was the last time I ever saw you. Shortly after the nurse left with you, I fell asleep, the exhaustion winning over my body. John woke me up a few hours later when the doctor came in with some bad news. At first I didn’t know what to think. I thought that maybe one of you was born with some kind of defect or had died somehow, I thought the worst. Only to find out that I hadn’t thought the worst at all. I hadn’t considered the possibility of what had actually happened. Somehow…someone, one of the nurses, another patient, we never found out who. Somehow they were able to take you. They took you from the bed the nurse put you in. You were laying right next to Dean. For some reason they took you and left him. They kidnapped my little girl. Of course the police were involved and there was a case, search teams, the whole nine yards. But they never found you. The search went on for years. I didn’t give up hope for six years. For six years I would wait by the phone in case they called saying they found you. I would pray every night to whoever was listening that they would bring you back to us. But nothing happened. Then one day we found out I was pregnant again. I was happy for awhile, but once he was born I felt like I was trying to replace you and it wasn’t fair to you. It wasn’t fair to him. My heart was too broken to continue on the path I was going down. I couldn’t take it anymore and I snapped. I finally snapped. So I wrote a hasty note, grabbed some clothes, supplies, and Sam, and…left.”

“That’s when I came home from school to find an empty house and a note saying you took Sammy and left. Why didn’t you take me? Why did you take Sammy? I blamed myself for that for years. I was six-years-old.”

Tears slipped down Mary’s face freely. “I couldn’t take you, Dean. I wanted to, but I couldn’t. Every time I looked at you I was reminded of Nikki. Of the child that had been stolen from me. I couldn’t take any more heartache. I’m so sorry, baby.”

Dean shook his head, not realizing how tightly he was gripping onto Cas’s fingers. “I needed you. I needed my mom. And yet you just left. You took my little brother and you hit the road, didn’t bother looking back. You didn’t care that Dad lost his job because he was so overcome by not only the loss of his daughter but also the loss of his wife and youngest child. That day that you left, he took up drinking as a hobby. From that point on, I don’t remember a time when I didn’t see that man with a beer or a bottle of whiskey in his hand. Because he lost his job we lost the house. The only thing we had were a couple of bags of clothes and the Impala. Everything else Dad had to sell to somehow keep out of debt. We moved around from town to town as he went from one job to the next, always getting fired within a couple of weeks. He didn’t bother finding us somewhere to live, so we stayed in motel rooms. I lived in a fucking motel room from the time I was seven until I was twenty. I would have just left and settled down somewhere, but I couldn’t. I was all he had left. I was the only thing keeping that man alive. And apparently I didn’t do too well of a job because he went missing. The only good thing he did was leave a damn journal with some contacts in it saying that if anything should happen to him, to get ahold of them. So I did. And that’s how I found the man who became more of a father than my own had been since I was six. That’s also how I found the woman who became more of a mother to me than since I was six. So how is it that I get more of a family when my own flesh and blood leaves than I did when I still had them? Explain that one to me.”

Mary set down her cup of barely touched coffee and leaned forward, tears still running down her cheeks like a waterfall. “Dean, I know you’re upset-.”

“You’re damn right I’m upset. Did you ever even look for me? Did you even try to see how we were doing? Or did you just erase that part of your life? It was pretty obvious back in the parking lot that your friend had no idea who I was even after you said my name. There were no signs of recognition on her face. I bet you just wiped us out of your life and pretended nothing happened. You just suddenly got knocked up one night and that’s how Sammy came to be. Nothing before that.”

Suddenly Mary was on her feet, getting more and more angry with the way the conversation was going. “I tried, Dean! I tried for years to see how you and your father were doing, but I couldn’t find you! It was what happened with Nikki all over again!”

Dean was on his feet too and he moved around the coffee table to stand right in front of his mother, looking down on her since he was an entire head taller than her. “But this time it was your own damn fault. You didn’t have to leave. You didn’t have to abandon us, your family.”

“I know it was my fault! Okay? I know! And I blamed myself for it every day! Every day I almost turned the car around and went back. Every day I almost hit send and called you. Every day I looked at the picture I have of you and yelled at myself for leaving. If I have any regrets at all, it’s leaving you, Dean. It’s leaving you and your father all those years ago.”

The air was thick with tension as Nikki and Cas exchanged looks, neither quite sure what exactly to say or do. All they could see was Dean’s back, but they saw the tension weighing heavily in his shoulders and knew just how angry he was. They knew that he was on the verge of completely snapping and possibly going off the deep end.

That’s when the front door suddenly swing open. A man dressed in a suit and tie who was a good two inches taller than Dean at least, strolled through the door, not realizing that there was company.

“Hey Mom! Got off work real early today. I had court that didn’t take long and no other clients so I’m done for…Oh, there’s company. Sorry…Wait, am I interrupting something?”

Everyone turned to the doorway of the living room where Sam was standing clueless. Mary forced a grin onto her face, but stayed where she was. “No, honey, of course not. Come in and I’ll introduce you.”

Realization finally sunk in that this man had called Mary his mother. All of the pent up tension that had been riding Dean’s shoulders like a rollercoaster vanished. His body froze as he looked across the room at the little brother he hadn’t gotten the chance to grow up with.

“Sammy?” Sam’s head whipped towards Dean and he froze as well, his eyes narrowing. “It’s Sam. Do we know each other?”

Before Dean could say anything, Mary jumped in. “Sam, honey, this may come as a shock to you, but….this is your older brother, Dean.”

Sam’s mouth dropped. “I…I have a brother?” The tension climbed right back up to Dean’s shoulders as he whipped around to look at his mom. “You didn’t tell him?! You’ve had over two decades to tell him, and yet it never crossed your mind that maybe you should tell him that he had family out there? That he had a brother and a father out there somewhere?”

Sam took another step towards the two, before pausing on the word father. “Wait, my father? You know who my father is? I was told he died in a car crash.”

The tension was practically making the air in the room unbreathable as Cas and Nikki repeatedly looked back and forth between the three. “You told him Dad died in a car crash? And you didn’t tell him…I can’t believe this.”

He wiped a hand down his face as he took a couple of steps away. He didn’t get too far before he swung back around and looked at his brother. “Not only do you have an older brother, but you have an older sister, my twin. This is Nikki.” Sam finally seemed to notice that there were also people sitting on the couch as he turned to see where Dean had gestured.

His eyes widened as he took in the similarities between Dean and Nikki. He knew instantly that they were related. “So…um…What about him? Not to be rude or anything, but is he related to us too?”

Dean tried to suppress an eye roll before he answered. “No, that’s Cas. Definitely not related.”

Cas stood and offered a hand to Sam who shook it hesitantly. “Nice to finally meet you, Sam.” Sam nodded, attempting a smile that quickly faded as he turned back to his mom.

“So, let me get this straight. My dad’s alive, I have an older brother and an older sister who are twins, and they are standing in our living room. And I am just now finding out about this.”

Before Mary could say anything, Dean jumped in. “Well, if it’s any consolation, Dad might not be alive. Who knows really. He could be dead for all I know.”

Sam’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but before Dean could explain, Mary decided she had had enough. “Okay! Sit. Everyone. We are going to have a nice family discussion and there will be no arguing and we are going to get to know each other.”

Dean snorted. “You really expect me to just sit down and play big happy family after all of these years? I’m sorry, Mom, but it doesn’t work that way. Why don’t you explain to Sammy here why he doesn’t know who I am. Explain to him why he doesn’t know who his father is or anything about his sister. Or hell! To _me_ why _I_ didn’t even know I had a sister until a few days ago! That’d be nice to know. Or no, I have a better idea. How about the four of you sit here and talk. I can’t do this right now.”

Mary took a step towards Dean, placing a hand on his bicep before he pulled away from her. “Dean, let’s just sit down and-.” “No, I’m getting some fresh air while you fill Sammy in on everything. Nikki will make sure you don’t miss anything. Don’t miss me too much. I wouldn’t want you to strain yourself by sending out a search party to come find me.”

As Dean left the room, Cas glanced at Nikki who nodded. She silently reassured him that she would be fine there with Mary and Sam while he went to help calm Dean down.

He quickly followed after him, trying to catch up as he stormed out the door and down the sidewalk. 


	8. A Little Bit of Background

**Chapter 8**

The air around them was filled with silence as both men walked down the sidewalk towards an unknown destination. They stood close, but not quite touching. Cas wasn’t sure if he should reach out for Dean’s hand or let him have some space. He could still feel the tension rolling off of Dean as they walked.

After a while, a wooded park came into view and they headed in that direction. Dean didn’t feel like walking anymore. He wanted to sit down, pull Cas into his arms, and just breathe the man in. Cas had been the only thing holding him back from completely exploding and just leaving for good.

They entered the park and before too long, Dean spotted a bench somewhat off the beaten path but not too far into the trees where it’d be creepy. The moment they sat down, Dean pulled Cas into his arms and rested his head on the man’s shoulder. Cas’s arms wrapped around Dean’s waist immediately, bringing them closer together.

Neither spoke as the seconds turned into minutes. Cas thought that maybe he had fallen asleep until he felt the familiar vibration of Dean’s voice against him. “Thanks for following me, Cas.”

“You are welcome, Dean. I have to admit, it was a much better option than sitting uncomfortably in that living room listening to your mother explain everything again.”

A chuckle rumbled through Dean’s chest as he pulled his head up to look deep into the ocean blue eyes. “I think just about anything is better than sitting there. But enough about that. Can we change the subject? Talk about something else?”

Cas nodded, “What would you like to talk about?” A ghost of a smile appeared on Dean’s face. “Anything. Anything other than what has happened today.”

There was silence for a few moments as Cas mentally flipped through subjects to talk about. He was about to inquire about something random he had seen in Dean’s apartment before they left, but suddenly caught the sight of the scar that traveled down the side of Dean’s neck out of the corner of his eye.

“Your scar. You never told me what it was from.” Dean’s brow furrowed as he raked through a list of the scars he could remember that Cas could possibly have seen at some point. “You’re going to have to be more specific, Cas. I have a lot of scars.”

He raised his hand to the side of Dean’s neck and slowly ran a finger down the length of what he could see of the scar. Dean inhaled a sharp breath at the touch. “Oh, that one.”

When Cas didn’t say anything, he continued and recounted the story behind the scar. “It was about two years ago. I was dating this guy, a real prick. We’d been together for a few months by that point, but I wasn’t happy. He reminded me too much of my father, constantly drunk. And he wasn’t a happy drunk. That night we had a fight, a pretty big one, and I ended it. He wasn’t too happy about it, but it’s not like there was much he could do. It wasn’t like I was some scrawny little guy who couldn’t hold my own. He threw a couple of punches, tried to get into a literal fight, but it wasn’t that hard to stop him. He was drunk after all. I left after that. I was on my way to the Roadhouse for a couple of beers with Jo and Ash to calm down. Didn’t really feel like going home right then. I was sitting at a stop light in the impala before it turned green. The next thing I know, I see headlights coming straight at me. In the next moment, glass was flying everywhere. I remember seeing more headlights approaching, or rather we were approaching them, before everything went black. I vaguely remember being pulled out of the car. I…I told someone to call Jo, that my cell phone was in my pocket. The next thing I remember, I woke up in a hospital room with Jo, Ash, and Bobby passed out around the room. Later on they told me that some drunk guy was texting his wife, letting him know he was on his way home. He didn’t notice the light turned red and went right through it. He slammed into the driver’s door of the impala, pushing her straight into the waiting cars on the opposite side of traffic. Another driver pulled me out and called Jo like I had asked them to, but I was unconscious before they could get out my phone. Then they told me that I had stopped breathing. The guy who had pulled me out did CPR until the ambulance came. Thankfully, it was two buddies of mine working that night. They told me everything that happened. That I had stopped breathing for quite awhile, that I had lost a lot of blood with all the glass that had been flying through the air. A chunk of glass from the driver’s side window cut a gash from right behind my ear to down just below my collarbone. It took a little persuading, but then they told me that I had flat-lined. I was dead for ten minutes on the table. I don’t know if you know this, but the longest someone can go being flat lined is about fifteen minutes. The only reason they didn’t give up was because they knew me. It took a little bit, but I was finally able to get the hell out of there and back on my feet. I made sure Bobby got the impala from the impound lot and I fixed her back up. You never would have guessed she’d been completely totaled a couple of years ago.”

Cas had been listening intently throughout Dean’s story. It struck him hard in the gut that he practically died two years ago. If the doctors had given up, he wouldn’t even know Dean Winchester. He would still be back home, alone and unknowingly miserable. Because without Dean, he wouldn’t have a true purpose to smile.

He stared deep into Dean’s soul as he gathered the words his mind was trying to form. “I’m glad you’re not dead, Dean.”

Dean snorted and refrained from rolling his eyes. “Yeah, well, so am I.” Cas didn’t lessen the intensity of his stare as he continued as if Dean hadn’t said anything. “If you had died, we never would have met. And that is something that is far too unthinkable.”

Dean’s voice softened a bit as he spoke, “Oh yeah? Why’s that, Cas?” There was a brief pause as Cas collected his thoughts so as not to stumble over his words. “Because you are the source of my happiness, Dean. You’re the reason behind my smile. Every morning when I get up, you are what I look forward to. I know we haven’t known each other that long, but I can’t imagine my life without out you, Dean Winchester.”

Dean’s lips parted slightly as he took in what Cas was saying. No one had ever said anything like to him before. He didn’t even think he was worth all of this.

“You mean that, Cas?” A small smile tugged at Cas’s lips as he tilted his head just slightly. “Of course I do, Dean.” He wasn’t sure what to say. After all, he wasn’t that great with words. So in response he leaned forward and pressed his lips to the blue-eyed man who had stolen his heart in just a few weeks.

When he pulled back, his eyes were shining with happiness. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was. Before the moment was ruined, Dean reached up and absently played with a stray piece of Cas’s hair that had fallen just behind his ear.

“So, we seem to talk about me a lot. I want to hear about you. Tell me some story about your past.”

Cas smiled and nodded. “Fair enough. What would you like to know?” Dean thought for a moment. “Why did you become a cop?”

Cas took in a shaky breath, knowing this would be a difficult story to tell. He took a couple of minutes to prepare himself for what he was about share. “I decided to join the force when I was eighteen. I had recently graduated from high school. My brother Gabriel had his own business already and had moved an hour away, so he wasn’t around much. It was a summer day, I had left and went somewhere with a couple of friends, celebrating being out of high school. We stayed out pretty late that night even though we had all been keeping up with the news. There was a serial killer in our town. He was going from town to town, family to family, killing parents and their children. He would force the children to watch as he murdered their parents and then he would take the children somewhere else to murder them, phone in a 9-1-1 call, and then just vanish into the night.”

Dean watched as Cas took in a deep breath, steadying himself. He wrapped his arm around Cas’s shoulders, giving him the comfort and support he needed, and waited until he continued.

“I didn’t get home until sometime around midnight that night. My parents had been the only ones home. Usually they would have called, asking me where I was, or stayed up waiting for me. They were a bit over protective at times, but since I was out of high school, they gave me a little more freedom that night. I walked in the house and every light was off, which was strange. They always left a couple of lights on. I called out for them, but no one answered. I got worried so I went upstairs to check on them, see if they were already in bed. That’s when I saw the blood stains on the carpet, bloody handprints on the wall, and I knew. That man had been there that night. I raced through the house, calling out for them, searching for them. I found them in the basement. They were tied up, bloody, and already dead. I called the cops. Later on, they told me that my parents had been tortured. When I asked why he had come after them…no one else was home, they just said that I must have caught him off guard. That he must have been watching us for a while, seeing that I was always home by a certain time, but when I didn’t get home until late that night, he wasn’t expecting that. If I had been there…If I had been home…I could have stopped it, but I wasn’t there. I was out with my friends. Laughing, having a good time while my parents were being tortured and murdered in my own house. The day after the funeral, I signed up for the entrance exam. I promised myself that I would stop as many murderers as I could so as few families as possible have to go through what I went through.”

Silence filled the air as both men stared out into the park, neither knowing quite what to say. It had been hard for Cas to tell that story. It was one he’d never told before. Sure, he had told people his parents were dead before, but he had never dished out the entire story. He had never trusted someone enough.

Dean turned and looked at Cas, his eyes calm and thoughtful. “That’s not your fault, Cas. There was nothing you could have done. If you had been there, he could have hurt you or even killed you.”

Cas looked up into his eyes and Dean saw the pain he’d been carrying around with him for years since that happened. Ever since he found his parents’ broken, bloodied bodies. “They’re gone, Dean. They’re dead. And I wasn’t there to help them.”

Dean placed his hand on Cas’s cheek and held it firmly to make sure Cas knew that he was serious. “Cas, listen to me. There’s nothing I can say to make that pain go away. That will always be there. But you told me that the day after the funeral, you promised yourself that you would stop murderers. You would put an end to their killing. If you had been there that night, think about all the people who might not be alive today. Think about all the men, women, and children you’ve saved ever since you became a cop. If you hadn’t have lived past that day, I may not be alive, Cas. You saved me from Jake. You’re the one who pulled me out of that building. I don’t ever want to hear you say you regret not being there that night because it’s like saying you wish you’d never saved lives, never saved my life. I know it doesn’t bring them back, but you’ve done a lot of good because of what you had to go through. Who knows if you would have become a cop if they hadn’t died. Where would we be then? We wouldn’t be sitting here together if that hadn’t happened. I’m not saying it’s a good thing that they’re gone. I’m saying that good things have happened because of it. It’s made you into the person you are today. The person who stole my heart the second our eyes locked. I know that probably sounds cheesy, but it’s the truth, Cas. You’re the reason behind my smile too, you know.”

Suddenly Cas’s lips were pressed against Dean’s. Dean could feel the tears that were silently slipping down Cas’s face. He could taste them. When they finally broke away, they stayed in each other’s arms, just holding onto one another. Dean knew that Cas needed him at that moment. He needed the strength that he could only gather from Dean. It was a kind of strength you get from the ones you let into your life, the ones you let through the rusted gate of the solid wall you’ve built around yourself. Cas had finally opened that gate for Dean and he was going to make sure not to screw things up. Dean could tell that not many people, if anyone, were granted permission behind the walls Cas had raised around himself that night when he was eighteen. That’s how he knew that Cas needed him now more than ever just like he needed Cas.

**SPN**

One hour later found them still sitting on the bench, but with a happier air around them. They had continued telling stories, but ones with happier endings. Cas had told Dean all about the first time he had met Balthazar. How the Brit had continuously tried to set him up on a blind date with someone.

“I finally gave in after a month. He wouldn’t tell me much about the man, only that he was kind of short and had a really bad sweet tooth. Well, I didn’t think anything of it and I agreed. I went to the restaurant and waited for the guy to show up. Well, apparently he hadn’t told the guy much either because when he showed up…I found out it was my brother, Gabriel.”

Dean had an arm wrapped around his stomach, laughing. “Wait, so let me get this straight. Your new partner just so happened to know your brother, but didn’t know you were brothers and set you two up on a blind date? So you essentially went on a date with your brother? Oh man, that’s priceless.”

He wiped away a stray tear that had snuck out of the corner of his eye. Every time he thought about the story, he couldn’t help but chuckle a little bit more. “Yeah, let’s just say he was never allowed to set me up on a blind date ever again.”

Dean chuckled some more before finally looking down at his watch. “Well, I hate to say this…but we should probably be getting back to the house. We’ve left Nikki alone for long enough. Hopefully it won’t be so tense when we get back.”

Cas nodded and stretched as he stood up. They’d been sitting for well over an hour. He turned to see Dean stretching as well and couldn’t stop the grin that escaped onto his lips. Dean threaded their fingers together and started back the way they had come.

As they walked, they continued swapping stories. Dean telling a couple of drunken memories he barely remembered and Cas laughing his way through a story about when Balthazar had decided to have a party and ordered strippers, but the strippers had been women where most of the people at the party had been gay.

They were laughing having a good time when Dean suddenly dropped Cas’s hand and took off towards the road. Everything happened so quickly that Cas could barely register what was actually going on.

Dean had been keeping an eye on their surroundings as they walked, trying to remember the way back to his mom’s house when he saw a little boy walking into the middle of the street. He was about to say something to Cas when he noticed the truck that didn’t seem to be paying any attention speeding towards the little boy who was getting farther into the street.

He dropped Cas’s hand and flew across the sidewalk and into the street. He wrapped his arms around the little boy and propelled them forward just as the truck was about to slam right into them. The front bumper of the car connected with Dean’s knee as it slammed on its brakes, coming to a screeching halt a short distance away.

Cas had watched the entire scene and his heart had stopped for that brief moment when Dean and the little boy were sailing through the air before they disappeared behind the truck. Cas ran over to where Dean still had a hold on the little boy.

He had sat up and was looking into his eyes, asking him if he was okay. Of course the little boy was crying, confused on what had happened. Cas reached the two of them, his eyes wide as saucers and kneeled next to Dean.

“Dean! Are you okay?! Is he okay?” He looked away from the little boy, briefly nodding to Cas, that he was alright, and looked back at the little boy. “Where’s your Mom or Dad? Is someone watching you?”

A woman’s voice yelled through the air and they looked up to see a man and woman racing towards them. “My baby! You saved him! Oh my goodness, thank you so much!”

Dean smiled shyly and released the boy, watching as his parents wrapped him in their arms and kissed his head, reassuringly themselves that he was indeed okay and alive. Dean started to stand up, but his knee buckled and he went down to the ground with a groan. Cas was immediately worried again as he watched Dean’s hand fly to his left knee.

“Dean? Did you get hit?” He nodded as he sat back down on the ground, looking back up at Cas. “Yeah, I think the bumper hit my knee as we were going down. I can’t put pressure on it and it’s already swelling. Here, help me up and over to the side of the road. I don’t want to be sitting in the middle of the road any longer than necessary.”

Cas wrapped an arm around Dean’s waist, pulled his left arm over his shoulders, and hoisted him up onto his good leg. He carried most his body weight, helped Dean over to the side of road and sat him down carefully, trying not to bump his injured knee.

He ran his hands carefully over his knee, assessing the damage. “Yeah, it’s dislocated.” He placed one hand just below his knee and the other just above it. He took a deep breath and released it as he quickly popped his knee back into place. He squeezed his eyes shut against the pain, trying not to throw up.

Cas was sitting next to him, watching with horror etched onto his face as Dean popped his own knee back into place. He could see just how painful it had been by the look on Dean’s face. The driver of the truck jumped out and ran over to them, cussing under his breath, berating himself for not paying attention.

“Oh man, I am sorry, dude! It’s a good thing you were there! Man, I need to pay attention more…Shit, I am so sorry! Are you okay, dude?” Dean looked up as the guy, a teenager, stopped his rambling. He tried to give him a reassuring smile, but it came out more as a grimace. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it. But you  may want to pay more attention. If I hadn’t been there, you could have killed that little boy. Just…pay more attention, will you?”

The kid started nodding furiously. “Yeah! Yeah, of course! Definitely. Oh man, I am so sorry. I can call an ambulance. You look like you could use one…Or a ride to the hospital? You should probably see a doctor, man.”

Dean nodded, “I am a doctor, but you’re right. I do need to see one. I think we may take you up on that ride to the hospital, if you don’t mind.” The guy started nodding furiously again. “Of course! Yeah! Anything!”

He looked sideways at Cas, seeing the worried expression on his face, and sent him a look asking for help getting to his feet. Cas wrapped his arm around his waist again, pulled his arm over his shoulder and helped him to his feet. He still couldn’t put any weight on his knee, so Cas had to help him walk. Before they started towards the truck, the parents of the little boy walked over to them.

The man extended his hand towards Dean and he accepted with the hand that wasn’t around Cas’s shoulders. “Thank you so much for saving our son. We just turned away for a second. It seems that’s all it takes at his age. They move faster than you’d think.”

Dean chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, they seem to surprise you. It was no problem, really. I’m just glad I got there in time.”

The man nodded, briefly looking back over at his wife and son, before looking back at Dean. “If there’s anything we can do to repay you, anything, anything at all, you just name it. You saved our son’s life. Here’s my number. The name’s John. John Sheppard. This is my wife, Teyla, and our son TJ.” Dean accepted the card John had held out for him. It had his name, number, and e-mail on it, along with his profession. He was a colonel in the United States Air Force.

“Dean. Dean Winchester. This is Castiel Samuels.” John nodded at Cas, smiling slightly. “Well, I won’t keep you from getting to the hospital. It was nice meeting you. Again, thank you so much.” The woman next to him, Teyla, smiled at Dean and Cas and nodded. “Yes, thank you. We will forever be grateful for your act of kindness and bravery. It was nice meeting you both.”

They nodded at her and moved towards the truck as the little family walked back towards their home. They decided it would be best if Dean got in last, so Cas slid in first and then Dean hopped in after him.

The ride to the hospital was full of exaggerated apologies from the guy and muttered reassurances from Dean. He didn’t really feel like talking that much with his knee still throbbing. Cas seemed to pick up on it, so he engaged the teenager in half-interested conversation for the rest of the drive, keeping an eye on Dean out of the corner of his eye as if half-expecting him to pass out or something.

Once they arrived, the guy offered to stay and give them a ride wherever they needed to go afterwards, but Dean waved him off. “No worries, we’ll be fine. Thanks for the ride. And remember, pay more attention where you’re going.”

The kid nodded, blushing slightly, and waved goodbye as he drove away. Cas had his arm back around Dean as he helped him into the ER. They hobbled through the doors and the receptionist looked up. It must have been a slow day because she was just sitting back, relaxing when they walked in.

She immediately stood, pressed a button signaling for help, and moved towards them. “What happened?” Dean grimaced slightly. “Dislocated my knee.” She nodded and asked him if he wanted a wheelchair, but Dean wavered her off, saying they were fine the way they were. He didn’t really want to leave Cas’s side and lose the warmth he could feel emanating from his body. He also didn’t want all the added attention he would get from sitting in a wheelchair. He’d always hated them.

Cas helped him back to an examination room, but was quickly ushered out of the room, being told to wait in the waiting room. The nurse came in a few minutes later with a clipboard. “So, I was told you dislocated your knee?”

Dean nodded, “Yeah, I popped it back into place, but I won’t be able to put weight on it for a week or two. I just need some crutches and a wrap, and I’ll be good to go. I’ll put ice on it when I get home.”

The nurse looked up at him with a question in her eyes, but before she could voice it, he chuckled and added, “I’m a nurse studying to be a doctor back where I live. I’m here visiting family otherwise I would have gone to the hospital where I work.”

“That makes so much more sense. So, I’m guessing you checked it out yourself? Is there any tearing or anything other than it popping out of place?” Dean shook his head. “No, it just popped out when it got hit and I popped it back into place. Everything’s fine, it’s just sore as hell and swelling.” She nodded and threw him a reassuring smile. “Well, I’ll put in for the crutches and then go get a set for you. How tall are you?”

“I’m 6’1”. And could you get a wrap too please?” She nodded, walked over to a shelf, and pulled one out. She moved over to Dean and was about to wrap it up for him when he put a hand on hers. “It’s okay, I can do it myself. I’ve done it plenty of times before and know what I’m doing.” She smiled, handing him the wrap and was about to leave when he stopped her again. “Oh, and is there anyway Cas can come in here? I’m fine and there’s no examination. He’s just sitting out there by himself.”

She smiled kindly and nodded. “Sure thing, hun. I’ll go call for him. You said his name is Cas?” Dean nodded, smiling kindly at her as she left the room. He heaved a sigh of relief at the thought that Cas would be in there soon. He pulled his pant leg up slowly, being careful with his knee, and wrapped it up. He knew he’d probably have to go buy a brace just to be on the safe side to avoid irritating it further, but he would deal with that later.

It only took him a couple of minutes to get it wrapped up. He was pulling his pant leg back down around his leg as the door opened and Cas walked through. The worry was still on his face as he crossed the room and was at Dean’s side in seconds.

“So what’d she say? Are you going to be okay?” Dean smiled at him reassuringly, pulling him towards him and sitting him down on the bed next to him. “I’m fine, Cas. Like I said earlier, I’ll just have to use crutches for a week or two. She just went to get some and we’ll be good to go.”

Cas nodded, threading his fingers through Dean’s. “I was so worried, Dean. When I saw you run into the street like that. You could have been killed.”

He nodded, squeezing Cas’s hand, trying to make him feel better. “I know, but I wasn’t. And that little boy is alive. All that happened is I busted my knee. It’s not the first time I’ve hit it either. It’s worse because I irritated an old injury. I’m used to getting hurt, Cas, and dealing with it. I’m fine. I promise.” He placed a quick kiss on his lips and pulled back smiling.

That seemed to help ease Cas’s worry and he relaxed a bit. The nurse came back in with a set of crutches and handed them to Dean who stood up to make sure they were the correct size, which they were.

“The doctor wrote a prescription for a pain killer. I’m sure I don’t need to explain it to you.” Dean smiled, shaking his head slightly. He knew the proper procedures and regulations. He also knew what kind of pain killer they had prescribed for him. She handed the prescription to Cas who slipped it into his coat pocket. The nurse walked them out into the main area and left them, leaving them with a smile and a small wave. Dean made his way over to the desk and gave the woman all of his information, handing her his insurance card.

She ran all of the information, made a copy of his card, and told him he was all set. Dean turned and smiled at Cas before realization sunk in. “Um, Cas? How are we gonna get back to my mom’s? The impala’s at the house and I have the keys…”

Cas thought for a moment. “Well, we could call Nikki and have either your mom or Sam come get us…or we could call a cab.” Dean settled for calling a cab. He didn’t want to worry or bother his mom or newly found brother any more than he had to.

When the cab got there, Cas gave the man the address back to Mary’s as Dean couldn’t remember. He had been too nervous to really pay attention to the address when they got there. They rode in a comfortable silence, Dean’s arm lazily wrapped around Cas’s shoulders and Cas leaning against him, careful not to hit his knee.

The cab pulled up out front of Mary’s house and they got out, Cas insisting on paying for the cab, and made their way up the sidewalk. They went through the door and were immediately ambushed by Nikki, Mary, and Sam. Sam standing a little ways back.

“Where the hell have you been, Dean?” Nikki was practically frantic as she appeared in front of him. She took in his appearance and her eyes widened even further. “And what the _hell_ happened to you?? You’ve been gone for three and a half hours!”

Dean was about to answer, but Mary cut him off. “Why are you on crutches? Are you okay? What happened?” The questions just kept flying at him and he felt like he was getting whiplash from it all. Thankfully Cas jumped in and saved him.

“Dean is fine. We went to the park for a little bit and on our way back he saved a little boy’s life, dislocating his knee in the process. We took so long because we went to the hospital to get the crutches, but he is fine. There is no need to worry.”

Dean sent Cas a smile, silently thanking him for jumping in. Nikki’s eyes widened even further if that was possible. “You saved a little boy’s _life?_ Okay, big brother, spill. Let’s go into the living room, and you’re going to spill.” Dean rolled his eyes but complied. They all made their way into the living room. Sam had walked towards the kitchen, disappearing for a couple of minutes, before coming back in with an ice pack and handed it to Dean who gave him an appreciating grin.

He set the crutches down and got comfortable, laying the ice pack on his knee to try to get the swelling down. “It’s nothing really. There was a little boy, TJ, who wasn’t looking where he was going. The parents just turned away for a second and the kid took off, normal little kid thing to do. A teenager wasn’t watching where he was going and didn’t see the kid, so I ran out there and grabbed him before he got hit. The bumper just hit my knee as I went down, but it’s fine. The kid’s okay. I popped my knee back in place and it’s fine. Can we move on now?”

Nikki snorted and rolled her eyes. Sam leaned forward and rested on his elbows. “You popped your own knee back into place? Wasn’t that painful? Why didn’t you wait for the doctor to do it?”

Dean looked up at him and almost rolled his eyes at the question. “Yeah, it was painful, but it’s nothing I haven’t experienced before. And besides, that’s what I do for a living. I knew what I was doing.”

Mary and Sam reacted in just about the same way. They both froze and stared at Dean blankly. He refrained from rolling his eyes again, but explained. “I’m a nurse, studying to be a doctor. I’m kind of used to dealing with dislocated limbs.”

Their mouths both dropped as Nikki snorted. “I think I had about the same reaction, didn’t I? But I think I made the comment that that’s pretty badass, having a brother who’s gonna be a flippin’ doctor. Hell! One’s a doctor and one’s a lawyer! Huh…and I’m a mechanic. What are the odds of that?”

Dean did roll his eyes this time and looked down at his little sister who was sitting next to him on the couch. “If it makes you feel any better, I know as much about cars as you do.”

She rolled her eyes again, looking up at him. “Actually, no it doesn’t because that just adds to your smartness. But whatevs. I’m pretty badass myself. I don’t need an ego stroke to tell me that.”

Dean couldn’t help the bubble of laughter that came out of his mouth, making Cas chuckle from the other side of him. Sam and Mary were just watching the relaxed exchange of the siblings. “You know…it’s like you two were never separated. You’re like two pieces of a puzzle fitting perfectly together.”

The twins looked up at Mary and blushed slightly at the same time, further making the smile on Mary’s face grow. Sam chuckled, “Huh, you can really tell they’re related.”

Dean rolled his eyes and looked away. “Well anyways, enough about us.”

Nikki nodded. “Yeah, I agree. We didn’t come all this way to make fun of each other. We’ve been doing that ever since we met.” It was Cas’s turn to roll his eyes. “It’s true. It’s like their favorite hobby.” Dean smiled at his boyfriend and threaded their fingers together, loving the way their hands just fit perfectly together. Sam watched the look that passed between Dean and Cas. He couldn’t hold back his curiosity any longer.

“I don’t mean to pry or anything, but are two, like,…together?” They both looked at Sam and nodded at the same time, which made Nikki burst into a fit of giggles. Sam smiled, happy for the brother he never knew he had.

“Is that a problem? You guys aren’t homophobic or anything, right?” Mary seemed insulted while Sam just smiled and shook his head. “No, of course not. Love is love, no matter who you share it with. I’m just happy for you. I don’t really know you, but I’m glad you have someone who makes you happy. And it’s obvious he does. Anyone within a five-mile radius of you two could tell you’re happy together.”

Dean blushed, not quite sure what to say. He looked up at his little brother and smiled. “Thanks. I know I am.” He turned and looked deep into the depths of the ocean that was Cas’s eyes. A smile slowly lit up his face as Cas stared as deep into the forest green eyes. “Me too.” 


	9. Family Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when two people in the house can't sleep?

**Chapter 9**

Later on that night after everyone had gone to bed, Dean made his way downstairs for a glass of water. Mary had insisted that they stay at the house instead of the motel so Nikki and Sam had gone back and gotten all of their belongings. It had given Nikki a chance to connect with Sam without the prying eyes of the whole family.

That’s what they needed. They needed the one-on-one interactions in order to really create the bonds they missed out on.

Dean hobbled into the kitchen on his crutches and poured himself a glass of water. He stood by the window in the kitchen, looking out into the yard as he took a sip of water.

He heard someone walking into the room so he turned to see who it was. He hoped he hadn’t woken anyone up. Sam walked into the room looking as though he hadn’t been able to get any sleep so far.

Sam smiled at Dean as he poured himself a glass as well. “Can’t sleep?”

Dean chuckled and shook his head, turning around and leaning against the counter. “Not a wink.”

Sam nodded, taking a big gulp of water. “Yeah, there’s a lot to take in today considering I didn’t even know I _had_ a brother. Or a sister.”

Dean nodded, looking down at his glass. “I should have tried to find Mom sooner. Hell, I knew about the two of you, but…I don’t know. I was just angry.”

Sam looked over at him, taking in the look on Dean’s face and his body language. “You had every right to be angry, Dean. I know I would have been if it’d happened to me. Hell, I’m angry at her for taking me away from you and Dad.”

Dean looked up at him, but didn’t say anything so Sam continued. “I understand why no one mentioned Nikki to either of us. I mean, it must have been painful to have your newborn kidnapped and never knowing what happened to her. I just don’t understand why Mom didn’t tell me about you or Dad. Every time I asked about Dad, all I got was that things didn’t work out the way she had hoped and that was that. If I had known…I would have looked. I don’t blame you for not looking, though. I mean, your mom just up and leaves, taking your little brother with her? Yeah, I’d be pissed. I probably would have exploded on her when I finally saw her again.”

Dean chuckled. “Yeah, I kind of did. I mean, not at first, but…when the truth was coming out…shit kind of hit the fan.”

Sam nodded, “It must have been hard coming all the way here after so long. Not knowing what you were going to get.”

Dean cleared his throat. “Okay, why don’t we hit pause on the chick flick moment and talk about something else.”

Sam laughed, an easy smile coming onto his face. “Fine by me. But how about we sit down in the living room. It’s more comfortable than leaning against the counters.”

Dean chuckled and nodded, gesturing for Sam to lead the way. He followed his little brother into the living room and they both sat down on the couch. Dean set his crutches on the floor and out of the way.

They sat there in silence for a moment, neither really sure where to begin.

“So, you’re studying to be a doctor?” Dean looked up at him and nodded.

“Yeah, it shouldn’t be too much longer until its official. I’ve been working as a nurse at the hospital where I live.”

Sam nodded, clearly intrigued. “So, what’s it like? I mean…taking care of all the sick people. Doesn’t it ever gross you out or anything?”

Dean laughed, “Oh yeah, all the time, but you have to remember that the people you’re helping need someone. They need that help. Most of them are grateful for the help, but there’s always a grumpy one you can’t please.”

Sam nodded, taking in every word. “Oh, I bet. You get them in every profession, but I imagine it’s worse in any health care profession. So, what about Cas? What does he do?”

Dean smiled at the thought of his boyfriend who was sleeping peacefully upstairs. “He’s a detective with the FBI. A pretty damn good one too.”

Sam’s eyes widened in shock, “You’re shittin’ me. He’s in the FBI?! Damn! So, how did you guys meet?”

Dean glanced down at his hands for a moment, not sure how much he should tell his little brother. “Um, well, it’s kind of a long story.”

Sam seemed to sober from his excitement and nodded his head seriously. “Well, if you don’t mind telling it, I’ve got plenty of time.”

Dean smiled at him and continued. “You see, I go to this bar a lot with some friends, The Roadhouse. Well, the owner, a friend of mine, has me as kind of a bouncer? Unofficially, but I take care of the problems customers cause. Someone’s trying to start a fight, I get them to take it outside, that sort of thing. Well, one night she asked me to take care of this guy who was harassing a young woman. I had him step outside and well…He knocked my unconscious and stuffed me in his trunk.”

Sam’s mouth dropped open. “He kidnapped you?! When was this?”

“A few weeks ago. Well, my friends, Jo and Ash, found a puddle of my blood on the ground so they called the cops. It was only a head wound, it wasn’t too serious or anything. Well, Cas and his partner Balthazar got assigned my case. While they were looking for me, Cas found Mom. He called her to see if she knew anything, standard procedure. That’s why I came down here, because he told me he found her. But anyways, they found me in this abandoned building with the guy. He was a cop, so it hadn’t been too hard to figure out who it was since he’d stopped showing up at work.”

Dean stopped for a moment to collect his thoughts. “Cas was the last thing I saw before I lost consciousness. I woke up in the hospital a day later and they told me what had happened. Cas came in to take my statement, I told him everything that had happened, and he left. A couple of hours later, he came back a bit nervous and asked if he could take me out for a drink when I got out. I said yes, and we hung out in the hospital room, like, every day until I got out. So, um, yeah…that’s how we met.”

He looked over at Sam, whose mouth was still open in shock. “Wow, that’s pretty intense. But, you’re okay though, right? I mean, it was a few weeks ago and you’re here and all, but…nothing permanent happened, right?”

There was true concern for his brother’s well-being written plainly on his face that made Dean’s heart swell. The man hadn’t even known he’d had a big brother twenty-four hours ago and yet, here he was clearly concerned for his well-being.

“Yeah, Sammy, I’m fine.” Sam’s nose scrunched up a bit at the nickname.

“Nobody calls me Sammy anymore, Dean. It’s Sam.”

Dean chuckled and looked at him with the adoration you can only get from your older brother. “You’ll always be Sammy to me.”

**SPN**

The next morning Cas rolled over to find the bed empty. He furrowed his brow in confusion and got up to find Dean. He pulled on one of Dean’s t-shirts and some pajama pants before leaving the room they shared and walking downstairs. He heard someone in the kitchen, so he followed the noise.

He walked in to find Nikki and Mary sipping their first cups of coffee. They looked up with smiles. Nikki held a cup out for him, which he gladly accepted. “Morning, Cas. Looking for Dean?”

He nodded as he sipped the hot coffee. She chuckled and pointed towards the living room. “They’re in there.”

He was slightly confused, but made his way into the living room. When he walked in, he couldn’t help the smile that formed on his face.

He found Dean sound asleep with his leg propped up on the table and Sam just as fast asleep sitting so that he faced Dean. It was obvious they had fallen asleep in the middle of a conversation as both of their heads were turned towards each other as if they had been talking. Cas’s smile grew as he watched them sleep. He knew that they had been able to connect a bit and was happy for Dean that he got his brother back.

He reluctantly left the living room and went back to the kitchen where Mary and Nikki hadn’t moved. He set his cup down next to Nikki and looked at Mary. “If you don’t mind, I would be more than happy to make breakfast for everyone. It might wake everyone up around here.”

Mary looked up at him in surprise. “Oh no, I wouldn’t want to make my guest cook breakfast in my own house.”

Cas cut her off, smiling. “It is the least I can do since I am not a part of your family and yet you are putting me up. Please, I insist.”

Mary smiled and nodded her permission for him to make breakfast. “But, I will help. It’s the least _I_ can do.”

Nikki giggled watching the two of them start to make breakfast. “Oh, and Cas?”

He turned to look at Nikki before he started making the eggs. “You _are_ a part of this family.”

Mary smiled at him and nodded. “She’s right, you know. Family doesn’t end in blood.”

Cas mirrored Mary’s smile as his head tilted to the side slightly. “Dean has said the same thing before. That family doesn’t end in blood.”

Mary pulled out the ingredients for pancakes and nodded once more. “He’s right. He must have heard it from Bobby. That old man used to say it all the time. It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if he still does.”

They worked on breakfast side by side, the three of them keeping up a conversation, getting to know each other. They made a couple of large stacks of pancakes, a large heap of bacon, and enough eggs for everyone.

Just as they were finishing up, they heard the familiar sound of the crutches and the three of them turned towards the doorway to see Dean and Sam, bleary eyed and awake.

Mary smiled at the two of them and waved them towards the table. “You’re just in time, boys. Why don’t you both have a seat at the table. Nikki, can you pour the two of them some coffee? It looks like they sure could use some.”

Nikki nodded and poured two mugs of coffee. She set them down in front of her brothers and sat next to Dean. “So, couldn’t sleep last night?”

They both grunted in response as they sipped their coffee, neither awake enough to form a proper response. She chuckled at them before getting up and helping dish out food.

Cas made a plate for himself and for Dean. He walked over to the table and sat down on the other side of him than Nikki had been and set his plate down in front of him. Dean looked at him gratefully. “Sorry I wasn’t upstairs when you woke up. I guess we fell asleep on the couch.”

Cas chuckled, “It is quite alright, Dean. When I came down, I found you both fast asleep. I am glad you were able to connect with your brother.”

Dean smiled at him before giving him a quick peck on the lips. Sam was watching the couple with a smile on his face. He saw the look that always passed between the two whenever they would meet each other’s eyes. It was obvious that they really cared about each other.

Sam found it remarkable that they had come to care for each other so much in the short few weeks that they had known each other. That was proof enough to him that good things really can come out of horrible situations.

They heard a knock on the door before it opened a voice rang through the hallway. “Hello? Anyone up?”

Sam smiled goofily and hollered back. “In here, Jess!”

Dean looked away from Cas and over to Sam. He’d known that Sam was engaged, but he’d completely forgotten about it. Now it was time to meet his soon-to-be sister-in-law.

A bright, young blonde haired woman with the biggest smile walked into the kitchen. “Good morning, Mary.”

Mary smiled at her as she looked up from making her own plate. “Good morning, Jess. Breakfast just got done and there’s plenty. Help yourself!”

Her smile widened, if that was possible, and she walked over to where all the food was stacked. “Oh, don’t mind if I do. It all smells delicious! Did you make all of this yourself?”

She hadn’t noticed the three extra people in the room as the dining room where Sam, Dean, Cas, and Nikki were currently sitting was pushed back a ways from the entrance to the kitchen.

“No, actually Cas and Nikki helped. Oh! You haven’t met them!” Jess turned towards Mary and finally saw the three newcomers sitting around the table. Sam had told her about them the night before, but it had been before it had been decided they were to stay at the house.

She took in the sight of the three people she didn’t know and moved towards them, extending her hand to Nikki, the closest of the three.

“Hi, I’m Jess. You must be Nikki.”

Nikki smiled as she shook her hand. “Sure am. It’s nice to meet you. We’ve heard a lot about you.”

Jess looked up at Sam with a sparkle in her eye. “Good things, I hope.”

Sam rolled his eyes in response, but stood up and moved to stand next to her. “This is Dean and his boyfriend, Castiel.” He gestured to them as he said their names so she would know which one was which. She looked at both of them and shook their hands.

“I’m so glad I got the chance to meet you! I’ve been so excited ever since Sam told me last night. I was hoping if I got over here before work that I would get the chance.”

Dean smiled kindly at her and stood, one hand braced on the back of the chair to keep his balance. “Like Nikki said, we’re heard a lot about you. I was hoping you wouldn’t be some boring, stuck up chick. Glad to see I was right. Damn, Sam, you didn’t tell us she was this beautiful.”

Jess blushed and looked at Dean sweetly. “Well thank you, Dean. It’s nice to know there’s at least one Winchester who thinks so.” She glanced up at Sam jokingly as he scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“Nope, not at all. You’re my hideous fiancée. You know, the one I’m constantly showing off?”

Her eyes sparkled at him through his sarcasm as she placed a sweet kiss on his lips for emphasis. She turned back to Dean, all smiles. “But, no, seriously, this guy is big ole teddy bear. You couldn’t find a sweeter guy if you tried.”

Dean smiled at the two of them, knowing just how they felt. He felt the exact same way about Cas. He turned and looked at Cas with a loving smile that was immediately returned.

Now that the pleasantries were exchanged, Jess was able to get her food and they all sat down around the table and shared a nice breakfast together.

Throughout the meal, they took the opportunity to get to know Jess and vice versa. She wanted to know everything about her future brother and sister-in-law. It turned out that she was a lawyer just like Sam was.

After a while, Sam looked down at his watch and sighed. “Well, I need to go get ready for work.” Jess nodded, looking at her own watch. “Yeah, and I need to head out. It was so nice meeting three! I hope we get the chance to get to know each other better before you leave!”

They all agreed with her and watched as Sam walked her out of the kitchen and to the door. They heard them say goodbye and Sam head upstairs to get ready for work.

Mary got up and placed her dishes into the sink. “I have to go into the office today for a meeting, but I shouldn’t be gone too long. You’re more than welcome to stay here while I’m gone, of course.”

Dean nodded, “Thanks, I have an errand to run in a little bit, so I’ll probably make Cas drive.” He sent a smile Cas’s way, asking if that would be alright. He nodded, rolling his eyes as if to say, “Of course, Dean.”

Mary finished off her coffee before smiling at them and went upstairs to get ready. Nikki turned to the boys. “Mind if I come too? I’d really rather not just sit around all day waiting for you two slowpokes like I did yesterday.”

Dean rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that’s fine. I just have to run to the store and buy a brace.”

“Well, you have fun runnin’, I’m makin’ Cas drive.” Cas snorted as he stood to clear away their dishes.

“Nikki, I do not believe Dean would get very far if he were to actually run there. It would be counterproductive.”

“Thank you, Sherlock, for that brilliant observation. Don’t mind me while I run to jot it down in my log book.”

Dean squeezed his eyes shut and tried not to laugh at their banter.

“Why would you write it down in a log book? I was merely stating a fact that if Dean were to run to the store, he would injury himself further.”

“I’m going to write it down because it makes for a very interesting conversation. You really are clueless sometimes, Cas.”

Cas tilted his head to the side in confusion. Dean couldn’t contain his laughter anymore and he set his head down on the table, shoulders shaking with laughter.

“I do not see what is so funny, Dean. I was merely stating the obvious.” Dean’s laughter increased and he wiped a tear out of his eye. “Stop, Cas. I can’t breathe.”

Cas, finally understanding what was so funny, rolled his eyes and made his way to the sink and started doing the dishes. “You two are so much alike it’s frightening. You are definitely siblings.”

Dean smiled at Nikki as she beamed. “Well, I’ll take that as a compliment, Cas. As should Dean. Having a genius for a sister does wonders for people.”

Dean snorted as he gathered his crutches and stood up. He hobbled over to the sink, leaned his crutches up against the counter and started rinsing as Cas washed. After a moment, Nikki joined them and did the drying. They figured it was the least they could do since they were staying there.

When Mary came downstairs after getting ready, she found the kitchen spotless. They had pitched in and cleaned it up. Dean couldn’t do much but lean against the counter as he cleaned, but he contributed nonetheless.

She gasped when she saw how clean it was. “Oh my goodness! You guys didn’t have to clean up! I was going to do that later. You’re guests here, you shouldn’t have to clean.”

Nikki looked up at her from her spot back at the table. “Mom, it’s the least we can do since we’re staying here. Just smile and admire the shiny surfaces.”

Mary smiled and nodded, crossing to the three of them. “Well thank you, all three of you. Now, I will be back in an hour or two. I was thinking we could have a nice, easy lunch here and then for supper tonight go to this restraint that is absolutely amazing. If you wanted to, I was going to invite Sam and Jess. You all seemed to hit off.”

Dean nodded, preoccupied with checking the messages on his phone. He had several from Jo. “Yeah, that sounds like a plan. We should probably be back by the time you get home, depending on when you leave. I just gotta run to the store. Nice and easy sounds wonderful to me.”

Mary nodded, picking up her purse and walking towards the door. “Okay, it’s settled then. I will see you three in a couple of hours. If you need anything, you have my cell number. Don’t hesitate to call either me or Sam. Neither of us mind, you know. Bye!”

They called their goodbyes and got up to go get ready for the day. Cas and Dean went up to the room they shared, one of the guest rooms. It was connected to a bathroom that was also connected to another guest room, the one Nikki was in.

Dean called dibs on the bathroom, much to Nikki’s displeasure, and left Cas in their room to get ready. Before he shut the door to the bathroom, he looked back at Cas. “If I fall, come save me, would ya?” He winked at him, earning a blush from Cas, and closed the door. He was wondering if he should pretend to fall just to get Cas in there. And so began his plotting.


	10. Cas to the Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Showers, slipping and falling....lots of passion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for not updating this in forever and a day. It's been forever, I know. I've had a lot going on and I've been focusing on everything that's going on with another one of my stories...This chapter is pretty short..just over 2k words, but I wanted to get it up there before I went to bed. It gets pretty intense, so hold on to your seat! 
> 
> I already have an idea of what will be happening shortly in the story, so I'm going to try my absolute best to keep it rolling. I will be leaving for vacation for a few days in about a week or so and I won't have my laptop with me the entire time I'll be gone. So no writing for me during that time. I'll try not to leave any cliff hangers before I go. I hope you enjoy the story!

**Chapter 10**

Dean got busy getting undressed, being careful with his knee. He was really tempted to pretend to fall and give Cas the opportunity to come save him, but he was afraid he might hurt his knee further. He was trying to figure out a way to do it without hurting himself more in the process.

He opened the shower curtain and turned on the water. As he was letting it heat up, he sat on the edge of the tub and carefully began to unwrap his knee.

He leaned back and tested the water. He decided it was ready and got in.

Dean stepped into the shower and began washing his body. His mind kept bringing up images of Cas. He couldn’t stop thinking about that man. They hadn’t really known each other all that long, but it felt like they did.

He smiled to himself as he thought about the way he looks when he sleeps, about the smile he gives only to Dean, about the way he tilts his head when he’s confused. He was really falling hard for that man.

He finished washing himself when an idea struck him. He listened carefully and could hear Cas in the room they shared. He knew Cas would stay close by in case something happened and he needed his assistance. That was the kind of man Cas was.

Dean leaned against the wall and slowly slid down until he was sitting. He positioned his knee into a semi-awkward position that wasn’t really hurting it, but looked like it would. He tried to hide the smile that was trying to come out as he reached up and knocked over the shampoo bottle, making a louder noise than he thought it would. He used the heel of his foot on his good leg to make a thump as if he’d fallen. He waited a moment before he called Cas’s name.

It only took a few seconds before the bathroom door opened and Cas appeared around the shower curtain. He had a worried expression on his face when he found Dean sitting on the bottom of the shower.

“Dean, are you okay? What happened?”

“I accidentally knocked over the shampoo bottle. When I reached down to pick it up, my knee gave out and I can’t get back up. Other than that, though, I’m fine.”

Cas reached over and turned the water off. He turned around and grabbed a towel out of the cupboard and handed it to Dean so that he could cover himself. Dean took it and did the best he could to wrap it around his waist while he was still sitting. Cas opened the curtain all the way and bent down to help Dean up.

Cas wrapped an arm around Dean’s waist as Dean wrapped his arm over Cas’s shoulders. Cas lifted him out of the shower and helped him to his feet on the tiled floor of the bathroom. Dean looked down at the puddle of water that was gathering around them.

“Um, Cas, don’t let go. Otherwise, I’ll probably fall again.”

Cas looked down and saw the water as well. He looked up at Dean with a small smile on his face. “We would not want that, Dean. Let’s get you into the bedroom.”

Dean nodded, smiling like an idiot. Once they’d walked through the door, Dean looked back and yelled to Nikki that the bathroom was all hers. Cas shut the door behind them and helped Dean over to the bed. Dean sat down on the edge of the bed and smiled up at Cas.

“Thanks for coming to rescue me, Cas.”

Cas smiled at him, “It was my pleasure, Dean.”

Dean winked at him. “Oh, I bet it was. You got to see quite a bit. How would you like to see some more?”

The pajama pants that Cas was wearing began to tighten. He glanced behind him towards the door to the bathroom as they heard Nikki walking around, getting ready for her shower.

“Don’t worry about her, Cas. She won’t be able to hear us over the shower.”

Before Cas could do anything, Dean grabbed a hold of his waist and pulled him closer. Cas couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped his throat as his hormone’s took on a mind of their own. He felt like a teenager again.

He placed his hands on Dean’s shoulders and leaned down to press his lips to Dean’s. The kiss started out slow. It didn’t take very long for things to heat up and the kisses to get more intense. Cas pushed Dean backwards onto the bed and then moved so that he was straddling his hips.

Cas moved his mouth and began trailing kisses along Dean’s jawline and then down his neck. He found a sensitive spot and starting to nip at the skin with his teeth. A quiet moan escaped Dean’s lips as his eyes slipped shut and he arched his back slightly towards Cas. He wanted more.

When he was finished, Cas moved even farther down and began to run his tongue along Dean’s nipples, bringing them to attention. He smiled at the way Dean responded to him.

Dean’s hands were climbing up Cas’s back, bringing his shirt with it. He wanted it off, now. Cas let him pull his shirt off before he went back to playing with Dean’s nipples. Dean returned his hands to Cas’s back after throwing the shirt somewhere off to the side. He was rubbing his hands up and down Cas’s back, feeling every inch of skin he could.

He slid his hands down and tucked his fingers underneath the waistband of Cas’s pajama pants. He paused to see what Cas’s reaction would be, but when Cas continued his path down Dean’s stomach, he slid his hands down farther until he was grabbing his ass. He ran his hands over the smooth skin, just reveling in being able to touch Cas’s body like this.

One of Cas’s fingers slid down Dean’s torso teasingly. He ran his finger over the chiseled muscle of his stomach before sliding the towel apart. He looked up and caught Dean’s eye momentarily, silently asking a question.

Dean nodded and scooted up the bed to get into a more comfortable position. He rested his head back on the pillows before looking down towards where Cas was positioned right above him.

As soon as he knew Dean was comfortable, he brought his mouth down and began trailing teasingly down his stomach from his belly button. He heard Dean gasp as his mouth bumped into something hard. He flicked out his tongue and ran it along Dean’s length. When he got to the top, he placed a small kiss on the head before swallowing him whole. He took in all of Dean’s length in one shot and couldn’t resist the moan that bubbled through his throat at the noises Dean was making. Just the sheer fact that he was the one causing Dean to make those noises was enough for Cas’s pants to harden.

He began to move his head up and down as he flicked his tongue against his length. He heard Dean’s breathing quicken as it got more intense. Just as he could feel Dean was reaching his climax, he pulled his mouth away and made his way back up Dean’s body so he could kiss him. He didn’t want Dean to come just yet. He wasn’t ready to end things.

Dean pulled Cas down on top of him and crashed their lips together. His lips were dry from breathing heavily where Cas’s were still wet.

“Cas…”

Dean moaned his name as quietly as he could, knowing somewhere in the back of his mind that Nikki was in the next room.

“Dean. Now. I want you now.”

Dean nodded, “In my bag on the side of the bed. Grab the lube and a condom.” Cas nodded, pecking Dean’s lips once before he moved away to fetch the items.

In the absence of Cas’s warm touch, Dean couldn’t wait. He reached down and started to stroke himself, not being able to stand it. Cas was suddenly straddling Dean again and was getting harder at the sight of Dean stroking himself.

“Dean…” He couldn’t help the moan that escaped from just watching his boyfriend pleasure himself.

“Cas…lube?”

The bottle appeared in Dean’s hand as Dean was asking for it. He moved his other hand away from himself and pulled Cas down on top of him. Quickly, he lubed up one of his fingers and reached around Cas’s waist. He slid his hand down until he found Cas’s entrance.

Cas gasped as he felt one of Dean’s long, slender fingers push its way through his hole. He squeezed his eyes shut as he felt Dean slowly begin to stretch him.

“That’s it, baby. Just a couple more.”

Another finger slipped in as a moan vibrated through Cas’s chest. And then another finger slipped in. Soon he was stretched enough and Dean pulled his fingers out. He tore open then condom wrapper with his teeth, slid his hand down between their bodies and put the condom on. He grabbed the lube and slathered some over the condom.

He aligned himself with Cas’s entrance and rested against him. He looked up at Cas and into his eyes. “Are you ready, Cas?”

Cas couldn’t talk, all he could do was nod. Dean placed a kiss on his lips before resting one hand on Cas’s hip and slowly pushing himself into Cas.

They both moaned at the pressure of Dean pushing himself inside. He took it slow, not wanting to hurt Cas. This was their first time and he wanted to make it count.

He stopped once he was all the way inside, sheathing Cas all the way to the hilt. Dean forced his eyes opened and waited for Cas to give him the signal that he was ready for Dean to proceed.

When Cas opened his eyes and nodded the slightest bit, Dean knew it was game on.

He slid almost all the way out, stopping right before he left the warmth of Cas. He pushed himself back in, a little bit faster than the first time. He still kept it at a slower pace, but he started to pick up speed when Cas groaned his name.

Seeing the look on Cas’s face as he pushing himself inside of him sent him over the edge and fell into a fast rhythm. He kept one hand on his hip to help balance him.

Cas’s eyes were squeezed shut as he rode through the sensations that Dean was causing him.

Dean reached down between their bodies with his free hand and started to stroke up and down Cas’s length, keeping them both satisfied.

He shifted his hips slightly trying to get a better angle and knew it’d been the right move when Cas cried out. Dean had found his prostate. Dean shifted again and moved so that he hit Cas’s prostate with every thrust. Cas cried out again, not bothering to keep his voice down as he yelled Dean’s name.

It only made Dean move faster and harder, causing Cas to soar towards his climax. It only took a couple more thrusts and Cas came all over Dean’s stomach and chest. His body was shuddering and he squeezed Dean’s shoulder as he held on through his orgasm. He tightened around Dean as his orgasm shook through his body. That’s all it took for Dean to come inside of Cas and his vision shortened out as he held on tightly to Cas’s waist, riding out his own orgasm.

Cas fell forward and didn’t move. They were both breathing heavily and trying to catch their breath. He moved that his forehead was resting against Dean’s and he opened his eyes. Dean was watching him with the most loving expression in his eyes he’d ever seen.

“Dean. That was…that was…”

“Amazing.”

Cas nodded and smiled down at the man he’d just made love to. They stayed like that, just staring into each other’s eyes. Cas was still laying on top of him with Dean’s arms wrapped around his waist. He was still inside Cas, but neither seemed to really mind.

“We should probably get cleaned up and dressed. I’m sure Nikki’s done with the bathroom and we need to get you into the shower.”

Cas nodded, but remained where he was. He really didn’t want to move away from Dean yet. He smiled and kissed Dean’s lips lovingly, slowly. They were both worn out, but mainly in awe of each other. Dean had never had such a powerful experience during all the times he’d had sex. He knew exactly why it’d been so powerful, but he wasn’t ready to admit it yet.

Cas smiled against his lips. “I hope Nikki didn’t hear us.”

Dean chuckled. “If she did, I’m sure she was rooting for us. You got pretty loud there at one point.”

Cas groaned and slumped against his shoulder. “I did mean to shout. It just…happened.”

“I know, baby. I’m sure she didn’t mind. That’s what happens when you get caught up in the heat of the moment.” He pulled back and winked at Cas before slowly pulling out of him, causing Cas to moan quietly.

“You are such a tease. I hope you know that.”

Dean chuckled as he pulled the condom off, tied a knot at the end and tossed it into the wastebasket that was close by.

“I know. That’s what I’m good at.”

“You are good at many things, Dean, believe me.”

Dean shot him a sexy smile before reaching for the towel they’d discarded somewhere along the way. He wiped himself off before wiping Cas clean as well.

Cas laid next to him, smiling at him as he watched Dean wipe the come from this body. “I have never had someone clean up after me before.”

Dean looked up at him with a small smile playing at his lips. “Well, now you do.” He leaned over and planted a kiss on Cas’s lips before scooting to the end of the bed and standing up.

He forgot momentarily about his knee as he put pressure on it and went right back down onto the bed. He winced and rubbed his hand over it carefully.

“Damn, it seems you make me forget everything. You’re very intoxicating. I think it messed with my head or something.”

Cas rolled his eyes but scooted over to sit behind him. He rested his chin on Dean’s shoulder and watched him rub his knee. “Are you okay, Dean?”

Dean turned to Cas and smiled. “Yeah, Cas, I’m fine. I just put some pressure on it when I shouldn’t have. It’ll be fine once we get that brace for it.”

He pecked Cas on the lips before turning around and scanning the room. “Um…I think we left the crutches in the bathroom.”

Cas lifted his head and looked around the room as well. “I think you must be right. When I go in there to take my shower, I’ll grab them. In the meantime, I’ll grab what you need.”

Dean looked towards his bag. “Could you hand me my bag? I have an extra wrap in there and I’d like to get dressed in case Nikki decides to make an appearance.”

Cas crawled to the other side of the bed and picked Dean’s bag up off the floor. He set it down next to him on the bed and started to look for the boxers that had been discarded, but was unable to find them.

“I cannot seem to find my boxers. Do you remember where they went?”

Dean chuckled and pulled a pair out of his bag. “Here, where these for now.” Cas took them from Dean and slipped them on. He moved around the room, but was still unable to find them so he slipped his pajama pants back on, not bothering with a shirt since he’ll be showering soon.

He found the clothes he was going to wear and decided to just wear Dean’s boxers for the rest of the day. He rather liked the idea of wearing his boyfriend’s boxers.

A knock came from the other side of the bathroom door and both men looked up. “Bathroom’s open if you’re done. Don’t mind me if you’re still writhing in each other’s pleasure.”

Dean blushed, but rolled his eyes. “Nah, I think we’ve got a bit more left in us. Don’t mind us!”

Cas looked over at Dean and tilted his head. “I do not think I will ever understand the way you two interact with each other.”

Dean looked up at him and smiled. “That’s alright, Cas. Neither will I.”


	11. Unexpected Events

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They get some downtime, but it doesn't last very long. Tensions run high between Mary and Dean, but why?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so unbelievably sorry for how long it's taken me to update this story...I kind of fell into a funk and didn't have any inspiration for it at all. This chapter is kind of short....but....It's important and a lot happens at the end. I am so so sorry...I know it's been forever and a day.

**Chapter 11**

Dean hobbled down the aisle towards the knee braces. He had Cas beside him and Nikki a few steps back, glancing around at everything she passed. When he spotted the braces, he stopped in front of them and examined each one. When he found the one he wanted, he handed it to Cas to carry and started back down the aisle. It was a fairly quick process and they’d only needed the brace.

Overall, it took them just under ten minutes to get in and out of the store. When they climbed into the impala, Dean wrapped the brace around his knee and looked up at Cas. “Let’s head back now. That’s all I had to do.”

Cas nodded and started the impala. They headed back to the house in relative silence. There wasn’t a whole lot to say. When they got back, they relaxed for a while waiting for Mary to get home from work.

Mary and Nikki made everyone lunch and they sat around the dining table, talking about nothing in particular. The group helped clean the kitchen once again after they were done eating and then decided to watch a movie.

There wasn’t a whole lot to do or talk about. Dean still wasn’t sure how he should feel with the situation so he mainly kept his mouth shut. Cas’s silence was normal, so it was all up to Nikki and Mary to keep a conversation going and it was much easier for them to just pop in a movie.

Dean popped a pain pill and then snuggled into Cas’s side once the movie was starting. Cas’s arm wrapped around Dean’s waist and Dean laid his head on his shoulder. It was about fifteen minutes into the movie when Dean’s eyes drooped and shut.

The group went through two movies before Sam and Jess walked through the door. Dean slept through both movies and their arrival. Mary stood and stretched. “Well, I’m going to go get ready for supper. We’ll leave in about twenty minutes if that’s okay with everyone.”

They nodded and she left the room. Sam looked over at his still sleeping brother and smiled. “How long as he been out?”

Cas looked down at him and smiled softly before looking back up at Sam. “Roughly the duration of two movies. He took a pain pill and fell asleep shortly after.”

Sam nodded, “How’s he been doing? Pain-wise, I mean.”

“I believe it has been getting better. We got him a brace today and he was able to stop using the crutches. He said he’ll be moving slower, but he won’t have to use them.”

“That’s good. As long as things are getting better.”

Cas nodded and turned towards Dean and started to gently shake him. “Dean, it’s time to wake up.”

Dean stirred after a moment and opened his eyes, but didn’t move from where he was. “Mm.”

Cas chuckled. “You slept through two movies. Do you feel better now?”

Dean nodded, but didn’t say anything.

“Sam and Jess are here. Your mom is upstairs getting ready. We’re leaving in about twenty minutes.”

Dean nodded again, but still didn’t move. His eyes were threatening to close on him again.

“Dean, if you do not wake up now, you will not be able to sleep tonight.”

Dean made a noise, but lifted his head. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to wake himself up. He looked up at his little brother who was watching the couple with a goofy grin on his face. “What?”

Sam shrugged, “Nothing. You two are just adorable. That’s all.”

Dean rolled his eyes as Cas chuckled. Dean looked at Cas with one brow raised. “You hear that? We’re adorable.”

Cas nodded, “Indeed. Nikki said the same thing earlier.”

Dean chuckled and ran a hand through his hair, still fighting off sleep. He stood up slowly and stretched his back. When he heard a satisfying pop, he walked into the kitchen for a glass of water. He was moving slowly, but he wasn’t using the crutches.

He got himself a glass of water and leaned against the counter as he took a sip. Sam walked in and smiled at him. “So no more crutches I hear.”

Dean nodded, “Yeah. I don’t need to use them while I’m wearing the brace unless it gets too stiff. It’ll make walked easier, but slower.”

Sam nodded, “The good thing is it’s healing. I don’t know about you, but I could go for a beer.”

Dean chuckled, “That sounds really good about now.”

“I’m pretty sure where we’re going has beer…hopefully. It’s been a long day.”

They continued to make small talk as they waited for Mary to finish getting ready. It didn’t take too much longer before she came downstairs and was ready to go. They piled into two cars: Sam driving Jess and Mary in his car and Cas driving Dean and Nikki in the impala.

They made their way to the restaurant, parked, and went inside together. They were seated at a table near the back big enough for their group. They all ordered a beer minus Mary who ordered a glass of wine.

Sam looked up at Cas. “So, Dean tells me you work with the FBI.”

Cas nodded, “Yes, I have been there for a few years.”

Jess leaned forward. “What’s it like chasing down bad guys all the time?”

Cas chuckled, “It doesn’t happen all the time, but it’s exhilarating when we do manage to catch someone.”

She nodded, “Oh, I can imagine. Have you ever gotten hurt on the job?”

He nodded, “A couple of years back I got shot. My partner called for backup and got me to the hospital. It wasn’t too serious, but I had to stay for a few days.”

“Wow! I can’t even imagine…”

Mary took a sip of her wine and looked over at him. “I thought it was against policy to get involved with someone from a case.”

Dean looked up at her, not sure if he’d heard her correctly. “The case is closed. There’s nothing left for him to investigate. Therefore, it’s not against policy.”

Mary nodded, “Well that’s good. We wouldn’t want anything to happen to Cas for getting too close to you.”

Dean’s brow furrowed. “Where is this coming from? Or better yet, how is it your business?”

Cas rested a hand on Dean’s good knee, trying to get him to calm down and let it go. “You’re my son. That makes it my business. Anyways, let’s talk about something else. So, you’re a _nurse_.”

Dean didn’t like the way she’d said that. His eyes narrowed the slightest bit and Cas could feel him tense. “Yeah. I am.”

“You take care of sick people all day? Why?”

“I like helping people. It seems everyone here is in a profession where they get to help people except for you. That certainly says something.”

Cas tightened his grip on Dean’s knee. Mary sat up straighter and looked at her oldest child. “You know, your father and I always thought you’d be a writer or something. Maybe even a musician with how much you used to sing. We never pictured that.”

Dean snorted, “What? Did you think I was too stupid to go to medical school?”

“Well…you didn’t exactly get straight A’s.”

Dean’s eyes narrowed. “I was in first grade when you left. I was only a kid.”

Sam coughed, the tension around the table seemed to grow by the second. “So…Nikki. Why’d you become a mechanic?”

She looked between Mary and Dean for a moment before looking at Sam and answering. “My dad…well, my…whatever the hell he was…He was a mechanic and taught me everything I know. I enjoyed it, so I just made it into a career.”

“That’s awesome! Have you thought about opening up your own shop?”

She nodded, “Yeah, actually I have been for a while now. And now that I think I’ve found a permanent home…I might start looking into it.”

Mary jumped into the conversation. “You know, your father was a mechanic.”

She looked at Mary and smiled. “Really? That’s awesome. Father like daughter, I guess.”

Mary nodded, “Yeah. He enjoyed it. That was the best part of his day.”

Dean glanced over at Cas before looking at her. “What are you trying to say?”

She looked up at him and smiled. “Nothing, dear. Just that your father wasn’t exactly who you thought he was.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, Dean. Just forget it.”

“No. What does that mean?”

Mary sighed. “It just means that…I saw a different side of your father than you did.”

“Oh really? And what side was that? The side I saw was the man who tried like hell to keep his family alive and safe on his own. The man who raised me by himself. What other side is there?”

“The side he didn’t want you to see. It’s probably the side that caused him to disappear. If you ever see him again, it’s his place to tell you, not mine.”

Mary turned to Jess and smiled. “So, tell me about this court case. How is it going?”

Dean tuned them out and looked at Cas. “What the hell?”

Cas shook his head, glancing over at Mary. “That was odd.”

“Yeah.”

Cas entwined his fingers with Dean’s and squeezed reassuringly. “Try not to let her get to you.”

Dean smiled softly at him. “That’s easier said than done.”

Cas chuckled, “So I’ve noticed.”

They continued their conversations as they ordered their food and until it arrived. Dean didn’t say anything to Mary throughout the rest of the meal. It wasn’t until Mary addressed him that he finally looked at her.

“So, what is it you do for fun, Dean?”

Dean took a sip of beer. “Some friends and I hang out at a bar called the Roadhouse. We know the owner. She’s actually the one who took me in after dad disappeared.”

Mary nodded, “Ellen Harvelle. Must be.”

Dean nodded, “Yeah, that’s her. I’m kind of like an unofficial bodyguard. If there’s a problem in the bar, Ellen has me take care of it so no one gets hurt.”

Jess’s eyes widened a fraction. “Wow, that’s really brave of you, Dean.”

Mary nodded, “Isn’t that how you got kidnapped?”

Dean nodded slowly. “Yeah, what difference does that make?”

Mary raised an eyebrow. “Well, you were kidnapped while unofficially being a body guard in a bar. I should hope you’re not thinking about continuing.”

Dean leaned forward a little and rested his elbows on the edge of the table. “Actually, I am.”

Mary stiffened. “Why in the world would you go back there? You could have been killed!”

He nodded, “Yeah, I could have, but I wasn’t. Ellen and Jo live alone. They don’t have anyone around to protect them. Sure, they can take care of themselves, but they’re family. I’m not going to let anything happen to either of them.”

Mary shook her head. “That’s really stupid, Dean. I don’t want you going back there.”

“You’re kidding, right? You really think you have any kind of say in what I do?”

She nodded, “Well, I am your mother. And that is dangerous. I don’t want to get a call saying you were killed because of some immature whim of yours to play the hero.”

That was the moment where Dean had had enough. “You’re unbelievable. After all these years, you really think you have any kind of say in my life. You don’t know a damn thing about me. And thanks to that statement, you probably will never know anything about me. It was a mistake coming here. I see that now. The only thing I don’t regret is meeting Sam and Jess. I don’t care what the hell your intentions were, but you really screwed up. We’ll stay in town for the rest of the week to spend time with Sam, but I’m not staying in that house. You can forget about me again if you want, I really don’t care. I wish I could say it was nice seeing you after all these years, but it really wasn’t.”

He stood and walked away from the table. With the adrenaline pumping through his veins, he was able to walk a little faster, but not by much.

Cas’s mouth dropped open at what had just happened. As he stood to go after Dean, Mary stopped him. “You’re a cop. You need to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid like that again. I’m sure you understand.”

Cas turned to her and glared. “What he does isn’t stupid. He’s protecting his family, the only family that has ever been there for him and stuck by him. The only family that has treated him like he means something. I’m not stopping him from doing what he wants. If anything, I’ll be standing by his side protecting his family as well. I don’t understand how you can call yourself his mother. Mothers are supposed to be caring and understanding. You are neither. At least when it comes to Dean. You’re different towards others which I find very odd. Dean has done nothing to you and yet you treat him so poorly. What he does, both as a career and as a hobby, is very courageous and it shows how strong he is and how good of a man he is. If you could see past yourself, you would see that.”

Cas left the table and went in search of Dean. He rushed out the front doors of the restaurant and looked up and down the streets. Dean was nowhere in sight.

Cas turned and looked at a man who had been standing outside. “Excuse me. Did you see a man, roughly six foot, light hair, green eyes, walk past?”

The man nodded and pointed in the direction Dean had gone. “Thank you.”

Cas took off in that direction and searched for Dean. He couldn’t have gone too far with his knee in that condition, but he couldn’t find him anywhere. He pulled out his cell phone and typed in Dean’s number. It rang a few times before going to voicemail.

“Damn it, Dean. Pick up.”

He tried again, but still was having no luck. He headed back in the direction of the restaurant to take the impala and search that way. When he got back, Nikki and Jess were standing outside by the car. They looked up as he joined them.

“You didn’t find him?”

Cas shook his head. “He isn’t answering his phone either. He couldn’t have gotten too far with his knee hurting, but…I don’t know where he went.”

Jess shook her head. “I don’t understand. I’ve never seen Mary act like that before. I figured she would have been more accepting…”

Cas nodded, “You would think so.”

He pulled his phone back out of his pocket and dialed Dean’s number again. It rang four times before it finally connected.

“Cas, I’m not going back. I don’t want to see her.”

“Dean, where are you? I’ll come pick you up and we can go to a hotel for the night. We don’t have to go back there.”

He heard Dean sigh. “I just…I need some time alone. Then I’ll give you a call and you can come get me. I’m sorry for just taking off, but…I couldn’t stay there another second.”

“I understand, Dean. You do not have to apologize. Should you be walking this much with your knee the way it is?”

“No, probably not. I’ll take a pain pill when you pick me up though. I left them in the impala just in case I needed them.”

Cas nodded, “Okay. Just…be careful, Dean.”

“I will, Cas. I’ll be fine. I just…”

“Dean?”

The line was silent, but it was still connected. “Dean? Are you there?”

Cas heard a voice he didn’t recognize come over the line. “Hello, Dean.”

“Dad…?”

Cas’s jaw dropped. John Winchester was there with Dean? How had he found him?

He heard movement over the line and then a crash as he assumed the phone fell from Dean’s hand. “Dean! What’s going on?”

He heard fighting in the background and Dean yelling for someone to let him go. Dean was asking someone, “How could you?” Then Dean was yelling for Cas before Dean fell silent and he heard a van door slamming shut.

Cas was panicking. There was more movement before John’s voice came over the line. “I take it this is Cas? Well, don’t you worry about Dean. He’s in good hands.”

The line went dead. Cas pulled the phone from his ear and stared at it in horror. He was frozen in shock for a moment before Nikki was able to snap him out of it.

“Cas? Cas! What’s going on? What happened?”

Cas looked up at her, confusion and worry written plainly on his face. “Dean was just kidnapped. By your father.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all don't hate me too much right now... I swear there's a reason behind everything! Well...I'm not too sure about Mary, but I wanted to turn her into a bitch because you never see that. Anywho...I hope none of you hate me too badly!


	12. Secrets Come To Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean finds out some interesting things about his past that leave his mind in a whirlwind of chaos. Cas struggles to deal with the situation and how to deal with the second kidnapping of his green-eyed man. Horror is becoming a more popular emotion in his eyes than anything. How will both men survive?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...here is the next chapter for this intensity. I had a bit of fun, not going to lie. Also...when I was typing John Winchester, I imagined him talking like he did when he was possessed by Azazel. No, he's not possessed in this, but that's just how I read it. Enjoy! And don't hate me too much! ^.^ The worst is yet to come.

**Chapter 12**

Dean woke up in an empty warehouse tied to a chair. He shook his head slowly to clear the fog and looked around. He was alone, but he didn’t figure it would stay that way for long. There wasn’t a whole lot to see. There were some random objects strewn around the floor: a small log, a tire, pieces of wood, a broken window. There was a sign hanging on the door that read Changing Channels Warehouse.

Dean had never heard of a business called Changing Channels, but he stored the information into the back of his mind in case he was somehow capable of letting someone know where he was. It was highly unlikely, but you never knew what could happen.

There was a large puddle of water off to his left. The roof didn’t seem all that capable of keeping the weather at bay in that area. He just hoped it wouldn’t all come crashing down on his head.

Suddenly the door opened and Dean’s head snapped in that direction. John Winchester walked in followed by three men Dean didn’t recognize.

“Hey, Dean. It’s been a long time.”

Dean narrowed his eyes. “What the hell is going on?”

John smiled. “I just thought I’d pay you a friendly visit. Let you know your old man is still kickin’.”

“That’s what phone calls are for. Emails, texts, post cards. You don’t kidnap people and knock them unconscious to let them know you’re alive!”

John chuckled, “I suppose you’re right. You were always too smart for your own good. It wasn’t my idea to bring you here, Dean. The boss saw you with your friend Castiel and wanted to surprise him.”

Dean’s brow furrowed. “Cas…what does this have to do with Cas?”

“It has everything to do with him. You’ll see. You really should learn to pick your friends better. The ones you have seem to get you into a lot of trouble. I heard about you getting into a tight spot thanks to Ellen. Maybe we should pay her a visit too.”

“No! You leave her out of this. She had nothing to do with what happened back in Kansas. It was my fault, so you just back off. As for Cas…if you lay one finger on him…”

John circled closer to his son. “Oh, it won’t be me that will be laying a finger on him, don’t you worry about that. I’m more like a…supervisor, I guess you could say. I don’t usually get my hands dirty. Sometimes I call the shots. Sometimes I just relay the orders and sit back and watch the plans fall into action. We have others to do the bloody work.”

Dean’s eyes narrowed further. “What are you going to do to him?”

John shrugged. “The boss hasn’t decided yet. You see, he has some unfinished business with your friend. He’s been looking for him for a while. Castiel’s been good at keeping off of his radar, but the moment he stepped foot in California…Well…We had eyes on him the moment you pulled into that little Super Eight motel. The impala looks good, by the way. It’s good to know you’re keeping her in such good condition.”

“It was the only thing my father left me before he disappeared. That and a journal. Which…why did you leave me that journal?”

John shrugged, “I figured it was the least I could do to send you to Ellen and Bobby. You’re welcome, by the way.”

Dean shook his head. “Why did you leave? I thought you were dead.”

John looked up at him. “That was the point. I wanted you to think I was dead so you would stop looking for me. That’s why I didn’t take the impala. I left because that wasn’t where I belonged. I joined this group years before you were even born, before I met Mary. I kept it from her for as long as I could, but she found out. The next day, she was gone.”

Dean’s lips parted. “That’s the reason why she left? Because she found out you’re in some gang?”

John rolled his eyes. “No. Well, yes, but not exactly. She left because she found out I was behind Nikki’s kidnapping. I had a member of the group sneak into the hospital and take her. They took her to some random house, said no one wanted her. They had the couple sign some bogus adoption papers, handed them a fake birth certificate and social. The couple never knew differently. They thought it was completely legal. Well…until they hired a private eye and found out what really happened. That’s when they sent her your way.”

Dean shook his head in disbelief. “You had someone kidnap your own daughter…? Why? How could you do something like that?”

John laughed, “Because I could.”

“That’s your answer? Because you could?”

John shrugged, a grin spreading on his face. “That and there was no way I wanted two brats running around. One was fine, but two? Besides…a girl? Not my thing. I always knew that if I ever had kids, they would be boys. Three of them.”

Dean shook his head again. “Well, looks like you screwed that one up. You got yourself two boys and a girl.”

John laughed again. “That’s what you think. Anyways, Mary found out I was the reason she lost her little girl. She became scared of me. After I left for work the next day, she took Sam and left. I guess she figured you were already too screwed up from living with me, why bother trying to fix you when she could start all over with Sam? Isn’t that the reason why she never tried to look for you? Why she never tried to find you after all those years? Is she disappointed in your life choices? Not quite approving of how you live your life?”

Dean didn’t answer. His jaw was starting to twitch.

“I thought so. Mary will never approve of you, Dean. You’re a lost cause to her. The son she couldn’t save. Me on the other hand, I never abandoned you. Not the way she did.”

“Yeah, you did. You just up and left one day, never to be heard from again. But unlike Mom, you didn’t leave a note. You made me think you were dead. How is that not abandoning me?”

“I had to leave you, Dean. It was either leave you the way I did or recruit you into this group. I knew you’d never go for it. I knew you’d never want any part in it. If you found out about it, but didn’t want anything to do with it, they’d kill you. So, my options were leave or let them kill you. Which one would you have preferred?”

Dean stayed silent, not liking either option, but seeing his point. He looked away from his father, not even wanting to look at the man.

“Exactly. You’d rather have me disappear than be killed because of it.”

Dean looked back at his father. “What is it exactly you’re involved in?”

A smile appeared back on John’s face. “I might as well tell you. They’re going to kill you anyway by the time this is all over. It varies from job to job. Sometimes we rob banks, jewelry stores, high-end merchandise. We never get caught. Other times, we rob houses. I guess you could say we’re like Robin Hood and his gang. We steal from the rich and give to the needy. In this case, we’re needy.”

Dean snorted, “Real classy, Dad. Now what does any of this have to do with Cas? Did he get assigned one of your cases or something?”

John chuckled, “Yeah, or something. Don’t worry. You’ll find out when he’s brought in. It shouldn’t be too much longer until you’re reunited with your boyfriend.”

Dean ground his teeth together. “Why can’t you just leave him out of whatever this is? Do whatever you want to me, but leave him alone.”

John shook his head as he started walked back towards the door. “Sorry, Dean. I can’t do that. Cas is more involved in this that you could ever imagine.”

Before Dean could ask any more questions, they were gone, the door slamming shut behind them.

**SPN**

Cas stormed into the police department. He waved his badge to let him through and marched up to the detective leading the case. “I’m Agent Castiel Samuels with the FBI.”

The man looked up at him and grimaced. “Detective Victor Henricksen. Explain to me again why the FBI has decided to get involved into a missing person’s case?”

Cas narrowed his eyes. “I was on the phone with Dean when he was kidnapped. I have been in charge of a case involving him before. I know his background and personal file better than anyone. If you want to find out why the hell his father is behind his disappearance, then you want me on the team. This is not up for discussion. I’ve already called my supervisor and he’s cleared my participation. I am fully aware that you are in charge, but I will be a part of it or else your captain will be hearing from my supervisor. Are we clear?”

Victor narrowed his eyes, but nodded reluctantly. “Yeah, we’re clear. Just stay out of my way if you want to find this guy.”

Cas nodded, “What do you have so far?”

Victor turned and looked up at the board where a picture of Dean was taped along with a picture of John. The details of the kidnapping as well as their relationship were printed on the board including other possible suspects. “There’s a local gang in town that likes to kidnap people at night, shove them into a van, and take off. Now of course there’s the problem with that being a classic kidnapping technique so it’s hard to narrow it down to just that gang. We’ve begun monitoring their hideouts to pick up on any suspicious activity. If we see any, we go in.”

Cas nodded, “Sounds good. What about any other gangs? Have there been any sightings of John Winchester around before?”

Victor shook his head. “None that we’re aware of which means we could be looking at a completely different gang altogether. They could have moved him out of town somewhere, back to their base of operations if it’s not local. We have choppers in the air looking for suspicious activity involving vans, but…not having an eye witness to what it actually looks like poses a problem. All we know was that it was a van and not a truck or car. I have uniforms canvasing the area around the restaurant, looking for any witnesses, but so far nothing. That’s not surprising since we don’t know the actual point of abduction.”

Cas sighed inwardly, not liking what little information there was. “Dean dropped his phone when he was attacked. John picked it up and spoke to me before disconnecting. Maybe he took it with him. Is there any way to turn on the GPS and track it down?”

Victor turned to one of the men staring at the board. “Track the GPS on Dean’s phone. Let’s see if we can pinpoint a signal.”

The man nodded, “Yes, sir.”

He turned and got busy typing away at a computer. Cas rubbed a hand through his hair. He felt his phone go off and he pulled it out of his pocket. It was a text from Nikki.

_Have they found anything yet?_

Cas sighed before replying.

_No. We’re trying to track down Dean’s phone now. I’ll keep you updated._

He was just about to slip his phone back into his pocket when he remembered he needed to text his partner.

_I’m at the precinct. Nothing new yet. Attempting to track the GPS on his phone now._

It didn’t take very long to receive a text back, even though he was supposed to be on a plane.

_I’ll be there in a couple of hours. Plane’s taking off now. See you soon, Cassie. And remember to take deep breaths._

Cas rolled his eyes before sticking his phone into his pocket. He didn’t feel the need to text Balthazar back since he’d be there in a couple of hours to help him find Dean.

Cas took a seat close to the board, staring up at it, trying to see if he’d missed anything. When Dean had been kidnapped by Jake, he’d put in some time trying to track down John, but there were no leads. He’d even tried to find him using a private investigator and it had gone nowhere fast. He had truly thought there was nothing to find. It seemed John was very good at covering his tracks.

“Why now…?”

Victor looked back at Cas, having heard him talking quietly to himself. “Why now, what?”

Cas glanced at him before returning his focus on the board. “John Winchester disappeared ten years ago. He disappeared without a trace. Even the private investigator we hired could not locate him. I had thought there was nothing to find until I heard his voice over the phone. Why now? Why come for Dean now? Dean has had no communication with him at all. He thought his father was dead for all these years, so why find him now?”

Victor looked at the board. “Maybe the answer lies in why Dean came here in the first place. Isn’t he from Kansas?”

Cas nodded, “Yes. His mother left him when he was six-years-old and he had not heard from her since or knew where she was. She took his baby brother with her when she left. While I was working his case, I found her. I informed him of her location and he wanted to come. He wanted to see her again. So we did. We brought his sister with us and we met their mother, their brother, and their brother’s fiancé.”

Victor nodded, “Okay. That explains why you’re all in California. Why was Dean walking alone at night?”

“He and his mother got into an argument. He could not stand to be near her any longer and he left. I went after him, but he had disappeared before I got outside. I tried to find him, but he was faster than I had anticipated. I called him and he answered. We were just about done with our conversation when his father appeared.”

Victor ran a hand over his face. “Okay. We know why he’s here, we know who he’s been with while he’s been here, and we know why he was alone. How much time has he spent alone since arriving here?”

“The only time he has been alone has been while he was on that walk. The rest of the time either myself or his brother Sam have been with him.”

Victor nodded. “Okay, how about we get Sam in here. That goes for Nikki too. Let’s see if any of them know anything more.”

He addressed the statements towards one of the other detectives who nodded and left to track down Sam and the rest of their group. Cas looked up at Victor. “What are the odds of finding him alive in this town?”

Victor frowned. “You want the truth or a reassurance?”

“I can handle the truth.”

“Given how little information we have at this point…slim.”

Cas nodded, “That’s what I was afraid of.”

**SPN**

Dean closed his eyes against the pounding in his head. Ever since his father had unleashed all that information, his head had been threatening to break out of his skull. He was having a hard time wrapping his mind around everything.

His father was part of a gang of criminals. He’d kidnapped his own daughter because he didn’t want her. He was the reason his mother had left. If he hadn’t left Dean all those years ago, Dean would be dead. Cas was somehow mixed up in all of this.

How was Cas involved? Surely, Cas had nothing to do with any of it. He wasn’t the type to get mixed up with these kinds of people. He wasn’t a dirty cop. Or…was he? No…he couldn’t be. Not his Cas.

But was he really? _His_ Cas? After all, how well did they really know each other? They’d only known each other for the few weeks since they found Dean in that warehouse. Sure, they’d spent a lot of time together in the hospital and when he got out, but…how well can you really get to know someone in just a few weeks?

Dean shook his head. No. Cas couldn’t have anything to do with it. John had been lying to him his entire life, why stop now?

Dean cursed his bad luck. It was just his luck to be kidnapped twice in two months. Albeit, in two different states, but that just made it worse. He hung his head in frustration. He just wanted to get out of there, take a nice hot shower, and climb into bed with Cas. Maybe even pop in a movie and just relax. He wanted nothing more than to be back at home in his apartment and with the man he planned on taking on a proper date.

After this was all over with, he planned on taking Cas on a date. A real one. He could take him out to eat, maybe see a movie. They’d go for a walk afterwards, holding hands. Then they’d maybe go back to his apartment and just relax in each other’s company. The only thing getting him through this mess was the thought of how their first date will be.

Dean lost all sense of time. He had no idea how long he’d been sitting there or how long it’d been since his father had walked out. He had no idea if Cas would be able to find him before they inevitably killed him. He hoped so.

It wasn’t too much longer before the door opened again. The three men who had been with his father walked in, but John wasn’t with them. They walked towards him, grins on every one of their faces.

“So, you’re the infamous Dean Winchester. We’ve heard a lot about you. Back when you were a kid, your old man had high hopes for you. He said one day you’d be the leader of this group of ours. He said you had potential.”

Dean narrowed his eyes, but kept his mouth shut.

The second man sneered and walked closer. “I always thought he was just full of shit. Looks like I was right. You’re nothing special. From what I hear, you’re a nurse. That’s a chick job. Potential, my ass. You have to have some balls to do what we do.”

Dean chewed on the inside of his cheek to stop himself from saying anything. He wasn’t going to let them get to him.

“We heard you came all the way here to see your mommy. How’d that go? All your fantasies come true? Or did they all come crashing down when she rejected you the same way she rejected you when you were a kid?”

“Go to Hell.”

The third man perked up. “Oooh! You hear that? Looks like we hit a nerve! He’s got some bite to him after all. Not much…but I’ll take it.”

He stepped closer and landed a blow to Dean’s gut, making him curl in on himself as much as he could being tied to the chair. The man laughed, stepping away from him. “Or not. I say we give him an appetizer before the boss shows up and delivers the entree. Maybe soften him up a bit for the big guy.”

The second man circled the chair and stopped when he was directly behind Dean. “I say it sounds like fun. What about you, Tom?”

Tom chuckled from his place off to the side. “I say go for it. Just don’t cause too much damage. We want to save that for the boss.”

The second man smiled wickedly and wrapped an arm around Dean’s neck, pulling him backwards. He tightened his grip on Dean’s neck, causing Dean to choke. He gasped desperately for air, but none was getting into his lungs. The man held him there, laughing as he watched Dean struggle to get free and get oxygen.

Dean’s vision started to tunnel and his eyes started to roll into the back of his head when the man let go. Air whooshed back into Dean’s lungs, making him cough and tip forward in the chair. He breathed in the air greedily, hoping these breaths wouldn’t be his last.

The third man laughed, enjoying Dean’s vulnerability. There was nothing Dean could do to fight them off or stop their attacks. His arms and legs were each tied to the chair. There was no wiggle room and no way to escape the bindings.

He glared up at the man in front of him. “Is that the best you got?”

The third man smiled wickedly. “Oh no, not by far. We have to be…gentle though. Wouldn’t want to break you before the boss can have a crack at you, now would we?”

“Aw, come on. What’s the worst he would do? Kill you for going too far?”

The man in front of him grinned. “You’re just a chew toy. An appetizer. The real meat hasn’t even arrived yet.”

Dean’s brow furrowed. “Real meat?”

The man smirked dangerously. “I think John called him Castiel. That FBI agent who’s sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong. He’s out of his jurisdiction. The boss knows him from way back when. He was real happy to hear this agent fella’s back in town. He thought he’d arrange a little get together. And when he saw you with him…Well, it was just too good to be true. How could he pass up the chance to get the up close and personal with Dean Winchester? The one with potential?”

“Duanne. I don’t think the boss will be too happy if we give away too much before it’s time. Why don’t we send in someone else to entertain our guest while we wait for the big guy to show up?”

Duanne looked up at Tom. “You have someone in mind?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. She could kick his ass into next week if she wanted to.”

Realization struck Duanne’s face. “Aaah, I see where you’re going. Are you sure though? She’s new. I don’t know if she should be trusted with this sort of package.”

Tom nodded, heading for the door. “She can handle it. She took you down last week, remember? She’s fine. Let’s go boys.”

They followed Tom out of the building, leaving Dean with his head spinning again. What the hell was going on?

It only took a couple of minutes before the door opened again. This time a woman walked through. She was shorter than Dean, long black hair, and brown eyes. She was wearing a black leather jacket, a black shirt, jeans, and black boots. She looked the definition of badass.

She walked over to Dean slowly, circling him, not getting too close. Her eyes didn’t leave him as she circled. She was taking him in, studying him, identifying any weak spots. Dean tensed, not sure what to make of the situation.

Finally, she stopped in front of him a couple of feet away. “Who are you?”

Dean raised an eyebrow. “What? They didn’t tell you anything before sending you in here?”

She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head slightly. “All they said was not to do too much damage. I didn’t ask for more information.”

Dean nodded, “Well, maybe you should’ve. Names Dean. Nice to meet ya.”

She cocked her head and her body froze. “Winchester?”

His eyes narrowed. “Yeah.”

She nodded her head before glancing back at the door. “Good to know.”

“What? I don’t get to know your name?”

She raised an eyebrow before taking a few steps closer. “Ruby.”

His head lifted, but otherwise he didn’t respond. She stopped when she was only a foot in front of him. “Why’d they bring you here?”

He shrugged. “They said I’m the appetizer for the boss. Whatever that means. That, and my dad’s John Winchester. Said he’s a supervisor for you guys.”

He saw a flash of recognition in her eyes before it was gone, tucked away behind a hard wall, never to be breached. “Did they say what they’re really after?”

He nodded, “Yeah, they did. I’m surprised you don’t know any of this.”

She shrugged, “I’m new. They don’t exactly trust me all the way yet.”

“His name is Castiel. He’s an FBI agent.”

She nodded and glanced behind her again. When she turned back, she threw her hand out and slammed it into the side of his face, almost tipping the chair over.

“What the hell??”

She smirked, “What? They sent me in here to do a job. I can’t disappoint.”

He chuckled dryly. “Yeah, we wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

She landed another blow to his face, causing blood to trickle down from his lip. She sent him a smirk before turning to walk away. “Don’t say I never did anything for you.”

He stared dumbfounded after her. “You didn’t do anything for you. You hit me! How is that doing something for me?”

She sent him another smirk before walking through the door, leaving him alone with his thoughts once again.

**SPN**

Cas sighed. He rubbed his hand over his eyes. He’d been staring at the board for half an hour straight, but still had come up with nothing. They were running out of time and he knew it all too well.

“Why don’t you step out and get some fresh air. I might help, give you some fresh eyes.”

Cas looked up at Victor and nodded. “I will be back in a few minutes.”

He stood and walked through the precinct. Sam, Nikki, Jess, and Mary were all being asked question after question regarding Dean. They weren’t being interrogated, but it was still tiring for all of them.

Cas stepped outside and breathed in the cool night air. It wasn’t chilly, but it wasn’t hot either. Cas like it this way. It brought back so many memories that tried to overwhelm him from his childhood.

He tried to clear his mind, but images of Dean kept popping up. He couldn’t get that green eyed man out of his mind. He never wanted to get that man out of his mind, but right now it just made him feel helpless and miserable. Dean was out there somewhere, surrounded by people who wanted to hurt him, and here was Cas…standing outside, taking a break.

The situation frustrated him to no end. It seemed there was nothing he could do. All he wanted was to crawl into bed with Dean and just stay there. He wanted him back more than he had ever wanted anything in his life.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by a uniform stepping outside and calling his name. He turned to look at the young man and nodded towards him.

“We’ve received a call from the kidnappers. They’re asking for you.”

Cas’s eyes widened and he bolted for the door. He flew through the precinct, not stopping when Nikki and Sam yelled out his name as he ran past them. He made it into the main area and didn’t stop until he was by Victor’s side. The call was on speaker and Victor turned towards Cas.

“Here he is. Agent Samuels is here.”

A smooth voice came over the phone. “Hello, Agent Samuels. I hope you’re enjoying your visit back.”

Cas’s eyes narrowed. “What do you want?”

The man tsked. “Now, Castiel, is that anyway to treat someone who’s keeping your precious boyfriend captive?”

Cas ground his teeth together, but didn’t say anything.

“That’s what I thought. Oh, he’s alive, by the way. Dean. Not in a very good mood, mind you. He had a nice chat with his father, uncovered the truth about a lot of things.”

“If you lay one finger on him-.”

“Well, it’s too late for that. I’ve already sent some of my men in there to get a little…taste of him, shall I say. I think they quite enjoyed themselves. No, the best part is yet to come for Dean, I assure you.”

“Why are you doing this? Why do you want Dean?”

“It’s not Dean I want. Dean is just an added bonus. No no, what I want is _you,_ Castiel. And I will have you. My men have already told him why I want you. Don’t worry, I made sure they haven’t spilled the whole story, but soon enough he’ll know. Unless you’ve already told him. In that case, I’m doing him a favor for getting him away from you. I’m sure he won’t want anything to do with you by the time this is all said and done. Then again…there will be nothing left of either of you anyway, so that point is rather moot. The only question is…when I do finally get you…will he still be alive?”

Before Cas could argue for Dean’s life, the line clicked and went dead. He stared at the phone in horror, not sure what exactly had happened.

Victor glared at Cas. “What the hell was he talking about?”

Cas shook his head and looked up at him. “I have no idea.”

“Well, you must. The way he was talking, something happened between the two of you that was pretty horrible. You have to have some kind of idea about what he’s talking about? Any leads you can give you? A heads up even?”

Cas shook his head again and ran his fingers roughly through his hair in frustration. “No, nothing. I’ve never heard that man speak in my life. I have no idea who he is or what the hell he’s talking about.”

Cas sat down roughly in the chair, exhausted. He just wanted this all to be over with already. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and buried his face in his hands. Everyone left him that way, knowing how rough it must be on him to not be able to do anything.

It wasn’t too long before he felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up. “Cassie, did something else happen?”

Cas almost smiled at the sight of his partner. He’d finally made it. “We received a call from the kidnappers.”

Balthazar nodded, “Were you able to trace it?”

Victor appeared in front of them, shaking his head. “Negative. The signal kept bouncing from tower to tower. We couldn’t pin it down.”

“Okay, well…What do they want? Money? Jewels? Drugs? What?”

“Me.”

Balthazar’s head whipped towards Cas. “Excuse me?”

“They want me. He said he told Dean why they want me. That once Dean knows, he won’t want anything to do with me. I have no idea what he’s talking about…”

Balthazar nodded, “Could it be an old case? Someone you locked away on bad terms?”

Cas shrugged, “I have no idea. I do not believe any of the people I have put away have been released yet, but I may be wrong.”

Balthazar looked up at Victor and was telling him to have someone run through all of his Cas’s old files, see if anyone had been released. Cas remembered something the man had said to him.

“Your visit back…”

Balthazar looked at him confused, “Pardon me?”

Cas looked up at him. “The man. He told me, “I hope you’re enjoying your visit back.”

“Didn’t you grow up here? In California?”

Cas nodded, “Yeah, two towns over.”

Victor held up a hand. “Wait a minute. You grew up here? Only two towns away from where Dean was kidnapped? How long ago did you move away?”

“I moved when I was eighteen.”

Balthazar’s eyes widened. “You don’t think…”

Cas’s eyes met his. “There’s no other answer. It has to be him.”

Victor looked back and forth between the two men. He waited for them to say who it was, but when they didn’t, he practically exploded. “Who?! It has to be _who?!_ ”

Cas looked up at him with horror shining in his eyes. “The man who killed my parents.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the Ruby in this is obviously Gen Padalecki. I ADORE Kate Cassidy. I love her to death, but I also have a soft spot for Gen. It doesn't help that she's Jared's wife. Anywho. Sorry for the cliffie! Again. Haha! I was actually planning on going a totally different route with the end of this chapter but then when I got to the part where he was outside, I got this idea and went with it. I wasn't going to prolong the abduction as much and just go with it, but...this is more fun. ^.^ The next chapter...you will all hate me. I can almost guarantee it. Thanks for continuing to follow and support this story!! ^.^


	13. Rainy Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean learns the truth about the past and why things happened the way they did. A twist get thrown in that leaves him reeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know how it's the Supernatural way to make a horrible character really good to the point where you actually start to like them and then....they die. Well...it IS a Supernatural fanfiction afterall.

**Chapter 13**

Dean looked up as someone walked into the warehouse. It was John. Dean mentally prepared himself for another round with his father. It was silent for a few minutes as John inspected the warehouse. Something seemed off, different from when he’d been in there the previous night. Dean studied him, analyzed every detail, trying to figure out what was different about him…how he could seem different in that amount of time. Even more importantly…was it just a rouse? Or was there really something different about him?

“I hope they haven’t been too rough with you. I told them to go easy, but…you know how it is. They’re itching for some action. Just wait until they get free reign. It won’t be pretty.”

Dean snorted, “Don’t worry about me. Nothing I haven’t handled before.”

John smiled at his son. “I always knew you were tough. You know…a lot of things have happened to you in the last twenty four years of your life. Do you remember what I used to say about the rain?”

Dean’s brow furrowed. “That rain makes things grow?”

John nodded, “You’ve seen a lot of rainy days. It made you grow up a hell of a lot sooner than I had planned. You didn’t exactly get a normal childhood and I know that’s my fault. You’ve been through a lot of hell and you’ve come out stronger because of it. I was always proud of you for that.”

Dean’s lips parted in confusion. Where was this coming from? It’s like something inside of him switched from being the horrible gang leader to being his dad again.

“I always hoped that someday…if I did have kids…they’d be able to grow up away from all of this. That they’d be able to have a normal life, a normal childhood. They’d be able to grow up at a normal rate, be kids, keep their innocence for a few years longer than I ever did. Did I ever tell you about your grandfather?”

Dean shook his head and waited for his father to continue. “He was a good man. Well respected, admired, even looked up to. He went missing when I was five-years-old. Everyone thought that he had run out on us, my mother and I. He’d just simply disappeared one night. He’d said he was going out…and never came back. That’s the night I became a man. I had to look after my mom. She got sick not long after that. From worry, stress…we never knew. She’d lost her husband, the man she loved, suddenly and had no idea why or how. That does something to a person. It weighs them down, makes it hard to breathe, hard to function properly. It wasn’t long after when she died.”

Dean’s eyes widened a fraction. He’d never heard anything about his father’s family, ever. He’d always imagined that his father had simply been dropped off at a doorstep by a stork, fully grown, already an adult. There had been no stories, no pictures, nothing.

“After my mother died, I was placed in my uncle’s care. He was my father’s brother. I was only eight when I found out what really happened to my father. He hadn’t run off with someone, abandoned us, like everyone had thought. He’d been forced to join a group of men. They had told him that if he had any contact with his family, they’d be killed. So…he left to protect us. It was the only way. I was ten when I was forced to join. My uncle was part of it and had decided that I was old enough, that I could take care of myself. He handed me a gun, taught me how to shoot, and that was that. I was a member. If I complained, I’d be punished. If I disobeyed, I went without food for days. I learned pretty quickly what my place was and I didn’t stray. Not once. Until I met your mother.”

Dean sat up straighter, listening more intently if that was possible. He’d never seen this side of his father before, let alone heard him talk this much.

“There was a policy in place. No one was allowed to date, let alone fall in love. We could have as many one-night stands as we wanted, but nothing serious or continuous. I started out seeing her in secret. I didn’t tell anyone, not even the person I trusted the most. It took a while, but they eventually found out. When they did…they were going to kill her, but I persuaded them not to. I had to make a deal with them…a deal I regretted since the moment I made it. I had no other choice.”

Dean’s heart constricted in fear. He already knew the answer, but he had to ask. He had to have it confirmed. “What was the deal?”

John looked up at his son with sadness and regret shining in his eyes. He glanced away momentarily, checking the door to make sure there were no eavesdroppers, before turning back to Dean and lowering his voice.

“I had already bought a ring. I was planning on asking her to marry me. I planned on taking her and running away from everything, away from the life I had, away from the life my children would be forced into. I was just waiting for the right time. I waited too long. The boss told me I had two options: stand aside as they killed Mary or agree to the deal. So I agreed. The deal was…to give him my first-born child. To let him take my child. If I did that…they would leave us alone. Mary would be safe. I had no other choice.”

Dean’s eyebrows scrunched, “But…I’m your first-born. Nikki was born after I was.”

John nodded, “When we found out she was pregnant…I thought that I’d lose the only child Mary and I would ever have together. I knew the grief would envelope her, it would envelope me too. Then we found out we were having twins and my hope was restored. I had the idea that if I just told them we were only having one that they would never know about the other. They would still leave us be. So when we went to find out the sexes…we found out we were having a little girl. You were positioned in a way that made it difficult to tell if you were a boy or girl, so Mary wanted to wait until you had moved to find out. I told them as they had asked what the sex was. I told them about Nikki.

When she went into labor…I prayed she would be born first. That way they could grab her and never know about you. But it didn’t work that way. You were born first. The miracle of it was that they weren’t watching the room. They were watching the nursery, waiting for a little girl to come in. They only paid attention to the girls. They didn’t even read the tag with your name on it. They didn’t find out about you until years later when you were five. Your first day of kindergarten. That’s the day…we found out Mary was pregnant with Sam. They said they would overlook hiding you from them if I gave them Sam. I couldn’t say no. If I did…they’d kill all three of you and I’d lose everything. For months, I tried to figure out what to do. Then when I knew what had to be done…I just had to figure out a way to do it. The night before your mother left…I set things up so that she would find out about my connections to them. She doesn’t know everything, not nearly, but…it was enough to scare her. That’s what I wanted. I wanted her to take both of you and run. I wanted her to protect our children.”

“But she didn’t. She only took Sam. She left me behind. Why did she leave me behind?”

John shook his head. “I don’t know, Dean. I’ve been asking myself that question for years. I hoped and prayed she would take you with her. I knew that if she did…you’d be safe from this life. This is a life I never wanted. I was forced into this life. There was no way I was going to allow one of my own children to be forced into this life as well.”

Dean nodded, “That’s why you ran. That’s why shortly after mom left, you packed up the last of our things, sold the house, and we left town. We never stayed in one place for long. We never settled down, always staying in motel rooms. It was because you were afraid they’d track us down, wasn’t it?”

John nodded. “One night ten years ago…I was sitting in a bar. I had no idea where to go from there. I never allowed us to go anywhere twice, afraid they’d be there waiting. You’d been talking about medical school. I knew that if I were with you…you’d never get the chance you deserved to have a real life, a normal life. And I knew that you would never leave me to go off to school because we were all each other had. I’d been trying to find a way to give that to you. That’s when they found me. They found me in that bar and gave me a proposition. They had some work that needed done. They said that if I came back with them…they’d forget you even existed. They’d leave you alone, let you live the life you deserved to have. I didn’t even hesitate to accept. I packed my bag while you were sleeping, left the journal where you could find it, and hitched a ride back with them, leaving you the impala. I knew that if I left her there, you’d know I was gone and wasn’t coming back. I knew that if you found Ellen and Bobby that they would take good care of you.”

Dean was speechless. All this time he’d thought that his dad had just abandoned him, left him on his own. He thought the worst of this man, but really…he’d done it to protect Dean, to give Dean a better life.

“I kept an eye on you. Even from all the way out here. I still have friends back there I kept in touch with for this purpose alone. I wanted to make sure you were doing okay. I made sure you found Bobby and Ellen. I made sure you got into medical school. I knew you dreamed about it since you were a kid. When you got into that accident…the one where the drunk driver plowed the impala into a line of waiting traffic. The accident where you had flat-lined for ten minutes. I was there at the hospital. I never signed in and I made sure no one saw me come or go, but I was there. I stayed in town until I knew you were going to be okay.”

Dean felt tears coming to his eyes, but he refused to let them show. “I never knew that.”

John shook his head, “That’s the way I wanted it. It was better if no one knew I was there.”

“What about Nikki? Or Sam?”

“The one good thing to come from the situation with Nikki was the boss told me where she was. He let me keep an eye on her, watch my daughter grow up from a distance. It was torture, but…it was better than nothing. I was at her graduation. She never saw me, but I was there. I was the one who slipped a letter to her ‘adopted parents’ telling them about the illegal adoption. I was the one who told them about you. I made sure she went looking for you. It was time you two were reunited. And Sam…Sam was easy to keep an eye on. Living in the same state helped. It was difficult to keep my distance, knowing that Mary was so close, but…I knew it was for everyone’s best interests if I just stayed away.”

John looked back towards the door again. He seemed to be weighing his options carefully. He walked over to the door, pulled it open the slightest bit, studied what lay beyond it, then closed it. He walked back over to Dean and begun untying the ropes restraining him to the chair.

“You’re getting me out of here?”

John nodded, “I can’t just watch them torture you, Dean. They’ve put us through enough. I’m getting you out of here.”

Dean stood once the ropes were untied and looked at his father, really looked at him. “Thank you.”

John nodded, “You’re my son, Dean. We’re family. Family…means no one gets left behind.”

Dean nodded and swallowed as they moved towards the door. He forced his throat to work.

“Why did you tell me all of that? When I first got here…you were completely different. Now…now you’re the man who raised me. Why?”

“Because I can’t be your father in front of them. I can’t show any emotion towards you, show any indication that I still care about you the way a father should. I’m telling you this because you need to know. You deserve to know. I should have told you years ago. I shouldn’t have let them capture you…but when they saw you with Castiel…things got out of hand.”

Dean’s body froze. “What do they want with Cas?”

“The boss…a while back he got into a new game. He didn’t just steal, he went beyond that. He hired someone to do his dirty work for him, but…he’s still the one who did those horrible things. He’s the one behind it all. I didn’t know it was him at the time. It was while I was with you. He hired a man to attack families, break into their houses. He would tie up the parents and torture them in front of their kids. When he’d had enough, he’d kill them, put them out of their misery. Then he’d take the kids somewhere else and kill them.

He broke into the Samuels’ house one night. His game was off though. The cops had arrested him for suspicion of the murders, but didn’t have enough evidence to convict. They had set him free. He didn’t want to get caught again, forcing his killing spree to end. He hadn’t noticed that the boy wasn’t home when he normally was. He broke into the house and tied the parents up. He tortured them and killed them. A neighbor had heard the screams and had called the cops. He heard the sirens and bolted. Castiel arrived home just minutes before the cops showed up. He found the bodies of his parents in the basement and called the cops, not knowing they were almost there. Castiel is the one who got away from him. The only one during that spree who survived. He lost track of him when Castiel moved out of the state. He couldn’t find him. How…was beyond me. For a man who knew where everyone was, he couldn’t track down one kid. And then, Castiel showed up here in town. With you. It was too good for him to pass up. He saw you two in the diner. He saw you in the park, holding hands, being intimate with one another. He knew you were together. And he knew he could use you to get to him. I didn’t know about the plan to use you until it was too late to change his mind.”

Dean nodded, his mouth having gone dry. This man…the man who had him kidnapped, was the man who had killed Cas’s parents. They were using him to get to Cas. They were going to kill Cas and finish the job. “I can’t let that happen. I can’t let them hurt him.”

John shook his head, “Dean…there’s nothing I can do to protect him. There’s only the slimmest possibility of getting _you_ out of this alive, let alone him.”

Dean shook his head, “Dad, I can’t walk away from this only to have him get killed. There’s no way…”

Dean saw the realization spark behind John’s eyes. “You love him, don’t you?”

Dean looked deep into John’s eyes and nodded. “Yeah, I do. He’s everything to me. He’s the one who got me out of that warehouse when a psycho cop kidnapped me. He’s the one who has patched me back up from it. He’s the one who found Nikki and Mom and Sam. I can’t even sleep at night without him there. I’m not going to let them hurt him.”

John smiled softly at his son. “You sound a lot like your old man. I’m proud of you, Dean.”

“Come with me. You can tell the cops everything, tell them who this guy is, where they can find him, who all is in the gang…they can protect you. They can protect Cas, me, Nikki, Sam, Mom…”

John shook his head, “If I leave, you won’t stand a chance in hell of getting away from here. They’ll come looking for me when I haven’t been seen in a while. They’ll find you missing and know it was me. If I stay, I can hold them off, give you a better chance.”

Dean shook his head, “Dad…I just got you back. I can’t lose you again.”

“You won’t lose me, Dean. I’ll always be with you. No matter where you go…I’ll be there.”

Dean looked away, towards the door, fighting to hold back his tears. He knew what his dad was prepared to do for him. “What’s the plan?”

John rested his hand on the knob, pulled the door open slightly and stared out into the night for a long minute before shutting it and turning to Dean.

“There are two guards out front. There’s a back door hidden behind a shelf. There should be no one guarding it. You’re going to sneak out that way. I’ll stay here. When someone comes looking for either of us, I’ll create a diversion, buy you some time. We don’t have much.”

Dean nodded, he had no other options but to leave his father there. John’s eyes widened and he opened the door again. “They’re coming. Go! The door is right over there in the corner. Move!”

Dean did as he was told and ran to the other end of the warehouse. He grabbed ahold of the shelf and hauled it as quietly and quickly as he could. He moved it just enough to be able to get the door open and get through it.

Before he knew it, he was outside of the warehouse, surrounded by darkness. He was about to move away from the door when he heard voices. He crouched down and pressed his ear against the door to hear better.

“Where the hell is he?!”

“I don’t know. He was gone when I got here. I was just looking around, looking for how he got out. I haven’t found anything so I was on my way to alert someone.”

“I don’t buy it. He’s your kid. I knew this was going to happen…”

“Excuse me? That… _thing_ …may be mine biologically…but he is _nothing_ to me.”

Dean gulped, not liking where this was all going. He knew that he should be using this time to make a run for it, but…he wanted to know what happened to his father. He needed to know if his father survived this.

“I don’t care if you _are_ the infamous John Winchester. There’s no way that freak could have gotten out of here without your help. You’ll pay for what you’ve done.”

There was a noise behind him. Dean whipped around and saw someone approaching. It was now or never. He snuck through the bushes, trying to be as quiet as possible in the dead silence of the night. He made it to the end of the building, but there was nowhere to go without being seen.

Dean paused, taking in his options. He looked back at the guy who was a hundred feet away from him or so. He didn’t seem to be looking for him, just patrolling the area. Dean made a snap decision and made his way towards the unsuspecting man. He crept up behind him, wrapped an arm around his neck from behind, and squeezed. He only squeezed tight enough to restrict the oxygen flow to his lungs and not snap his neck. When the man fell unconscious, Dean dropped him.

He searched his pockets for weapons, anything he could use. He found a gun, a knife, and a cell phone. Dean smiled at his surprising good luck.

He drug the body into the bushes so no one found him and was alarmed. Then he crept back to the side of the building to watch for his chance to run. As he was waiting, he pulled out the stolen cell phone and punched in a number he knew all too well. He pressed the phone to his ear and practically held his breath as it rang.

“Samuels.”

Dean almost cried out in joy at hearing the voice, but refrained. He kept his voice low so as not to alert anyone to his whereabouts.

“Cas. Cas, it’s me.”

“Dean…? But how? Where are you?” He could hear people scurrying around in the background and Dean knew he was at the precinct.

“It’s a long story. I got some help from my dad. As to where…All I know is, it’s a warehouse. I saw a sign that said Changing Channels Warehouse. I’ve never heard of it, but…”

He paused and turned around, back towards where he’d come from. He swore he’d heard a noise. “Dean?”

“I don’t have much time. I don’t know how the hell I’m gonna get out of here. There are guys everywhere.”

“Don’t worry, Dean. We’re tracing the call now. Just keep the line connected and we can triangulate your position. Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine.”

In reality, his face stung and his knee was throbbing relentlessly, but he wasn’t going to say that to Cas. He knew it would only make him worry more.

“Dean…”

“Cas, don’t worry about me. What you need to worry about is you. You’re who they’re after. They only took me to get to you. Don’t even think about coming after me, you hear me? You send someone else to. I want you somewhere safe where this son of a bitch can’t get to you.”

“Dean, I can take care of myself. And I already know he wants me. He called. He’s the man who killed my parents.”

“I know. Actually…he’s the man who hired the man who killed your parents, but that’s just a technicality.”

“How do you know that, Dean?”

“Cas, I’ll explain everything I know later, including the truth behind my father. Right now…I need to get out of this alive.”

There it was again: that noise. He turned around, narrowing his eyes into the darkness. He really had a bad feeling. “Cas…I have a feeling the line’s about to be disconnected so you better hurry it the hell up with that-.”

Something slammed into Dean, causing the phone to fly out of his hand and land a couple of feet away. He could hear Cas calling his name as he scrambled towards it. He was barreled into again and spun around to face his attacker.

“Who the hell are you?”

“The man who’s going to get bonus points for recapturing John Winchester’s son. I heard you were a wimp. Let’s see if that’s true.”

The man’s fist flew out towards Dean, but he managed to duck away just in time. He remembered the gun he’d acquired and saw it lying on the ground, not too far away. He dove for it, praying he’d estimated the distance correctly, rolled, picked it up, and spun towards the man.

He didn’t have time to say anything before the man was racing towards him with his own gun drawn. It was now or never. He pulled the trigger and was almost instantly splatted with blood. He sat there, frozen. He’d just killed a man.

Dean snapped out of it a moment later when he heard a group of people approaching. There was no time to locate the fallen phone. He jumped to his feet and took off at a flat run. He wasn’t sure where he was going, just needed to get away from there.

He pleaded with his legs to push him faster, move him farther away from this hellhole, but they wouldn’t obey. Or, more specifically, his knee wasn’t having any of that. Right as he was about to hit the tree line, his knee gave out, dropping him to the ground. He collided with the rocks hard, scraping his hands and face up as he landed.

His face scrunched in pain as agony ripped through his knee. There was no way he was going to make it out of there with his knee the way it was. In fact, he was pretty sure he’d ripped a muscle during his escape.

He pulled himself onto his good knee and tried to make it to his feet and somehow hide, but it was no use. They were already on top of him and pulling him to his feet. There was no escaping.

**SPN**

Nikki paced the floor in her mother’s living room. It had been over twenty four hours since Dean had been kidnapped. She hadn’t slept a wink since either. There was no way she could sleep with her brother missing.

Who knew would could be happening to him, the pain he could be in. She couldn’t bear to think about it, yet that was all she _could_ think about. It was torture. She couldn’t stop thinking about all of the things that could be happening to him.

Sam watched her pace, his eyes following her with every movement she made. “Nikki…you’re going to wear a hole in the floor if you keep pacing.”

She didn’t stop. She didn’t even seem to have heard him. “Nikki.”

Nothing.

“Nikki!”

She stopped pacing and stared at him. “What?”

Sam frowned. “I just got a text from Cas. He said to meet him at the station.”

She nodded and followed Sam out of the door and towards his car. They sat in silence on their way to the precinct. They were both worried about their brother and what could possibly be happening to him. Sam pulled the car to a stop and they climbed out.

Cas met them outside the door and they followed him inside.

“So, Cas, any news?”

Cas nodded, “We think we know who John is working with and possibly a location on where they are keeping Dean. We’re waiting for a phone call from someone on the inside to confirm before we can move in.”

Nikki nodded, “That makes sense.”

They joined the group of officers and detectives in the main room as Cas’s phone rang. He pulled it out and glanced at the number. He didn’t recognize it, but he dismissed the thought. “Samuels.”

The voice Cas heard on the other end made his heart stop and he momentarily forgot to breathe. “Cas. Cas, it’s me.”

“Dean…? But how? Where are you?”

Everyone’s heads snapped towards Cas when they heard him say Dean’s name. He pointed to someone and the whole room was in motion instantly. An officer immediately started running a trace on Cas’s phone. Cas pressed the speaker phone button and held it away from his ear so the rest of the room could hear.

“It’s a long story. I got some help from my dad. As to where…All I know is, it’s a warehouse. I saw a sign that said Changing Channels Warehouse. I’ve never heard of it, but…”

There was a moment of silence that made Cas worry. “Dean?”

“I don’t have much time. I don’t know how the hell I’m gonna get out of here. There are guys everywhere.”

“Don’t worry, Dean. We’re tracing the call now. Just keep the line connected and we can triangulate your position. Are you hurt?”

 “I’m fine.”

Cas saw Nikki tense up. He knew she was restraining herself from saying anything. He also knew that there was no way that Dean was fine. His knee had to be killing him. That brought the chances of a successful escape plummeting and he knew it.

“Dean…”

“Cas, don’t worry about me. What you need to worry about is you. You’re who they’re after. They only took me to get to you. Don’t even think about coming after me, you hear me? You send someone else to. I want you somewhere safe where this son of a bitch can’t get to you.”

Cas refrained from rolling his eyes, but just barely. The only thing stopping him was the fact that Dean was running for his life and Cas was terrified for him.

“Dean, I can take care of myself. And I already know he wants me. He called. He’s the man who killed my parents.”

“I know. Actually…he’s the man who hired the man who killed your parents, but that’s just a technicality.”

Cas felt the room momentarily stop, but just for a second. He was as shocked as everyone else. For there to be _another_ person they were looking for…that made things even more dangerous for both himself and Dean. More specifically, Dean.

“How do you know that, Dean?”

“Cas, I’ll explain everything I know later, including the truth behind my father. Right now…I need to get out of this alive.”

They heard a soft noise in the background, but it was difficult to make out what it was. Dean’s voice came back rushed which heightened everyone’s worry.

“Cas…I have a feeling the line’s about to be disconnected so you better hurry it the hell up with that-.”

They heard a noise that sounded like some kind of collision and then a bang, as if the phone had dropped. Cas yelled Dean’s name, but didn’t get an answer. They heard some struggling and moving around before they heard Dean’s voice a little ways away.

“Who the hell are you?”

Another man’s voice was heard next, but not one any of them recognized. “The man who’s going to get bonus points for recapturing John Winchester’s son. I heard you were a wimp. Let’s see if that’s true.”

They heard more struggling and then a moment later a gun went off. Cas’s heart stopped again, fearing the worst. There was more struggling before the phone went silent. Cas looked down to see if it was still connected and it was.

“Do we have a trace yet?”

Cas looked up at Henrisksen who seemed to be the only one in the room still able to function. The detective running the trace looked down and then nodded. “Confirmed. We’ve got a location!”

“Okay! Everyone move out! Let’s go get him home!”

The precinct was in a flurry of motion until more voices filtered through the speaker.

“That’s Peterson! Son of a bitch killed Peterson! Oh, he’s gonna pay now!”

“Cool it, Marcus. We’re not going to find Winchester with you running around like a hot-head. He’ll get what’s comin’ to him. I promise you that.”

“Oh yeah, we’ll do to him like we did to his old man.”

“Nah, we’ll make him suffer more. I’m sure the boss will want to officially meet him after this stunt. Wait…what’s that?”

There was a moment of silence before the man’s voice came back enraged. “The little shit made a call! Looks like we’ll have even more to punish him for.”

The line went dead.

**SPN**

Dean woke up with a doozy of a headache. He lifted his head and found himself to be in a small room this time instead of a warehouse. There were no windows, only a door and the chair he was chained to. Dean huffed at the knowledge that they had upgraded to chains this time instead of rope.

He cracked his neck to try and release some of the tension. His headache subsided slightly, but not by much. It was still pounding.

He knee was aching the most. He’d pushed it too far, past the limit. He could practically feel the muscle that had ripped. It was throbbing relentlessly. It was going to be a bitch to heal and he knew it.

Dean looked around the room for anything he could use, any sort of escape plan, anything…there was nothing. Nothing to bust the chains, no way out. There wasn’t even a doorknob on this side of the door. It was metal with a tiny window at the top for someone to look inside.

He knew there must be guards on the other side of the door. There was no escaping this time without help. Or backup. Whichever came first.

Dean sighed. He was just thankful he was able to make a call to Cas. He knew the call had been connected long enough to get a trace on it. It had still been connected when he’d run off, he was sure of it. That means that Cas and the others would find him. Unless…

The door opened suddenly, revealing two people he hadn’t seen before. He could tell they must be important by the way they carried themselves. One of them was kind of short, black hair, a little thicker, wearing a tailored suit. He was carrying a glass of what looked like scotch.

The other man was tall, thin, and had facial hair. His eyes were menacing. They held something behind them…a kind of terror Dean had never seen before. A chill ran through his body that he couldn’t repress. The eyes alone of this man were enough to send someone running.

The shorter man smirked at him. “Dean Winchester. We meet at last. I’ve known your father for some time. He was a good man.”

Dean’s eyes narrowed. “Was?”

The smirk grew. “That’s right. While you were making a sad attempt at escaping, my boys were putting him down like the dog he was. It really wasn’t pretty. I’m sure when your friend Castiel and his buddies get there they’ll have a fun time mopping up his brains from the cement. If I might add, cremation may be the best option. A bit less traumatizing.”

A noise ripped from Dean’s throat that sounded damn near close to a growl. “Don’t you dare talk about my father like that. He was a good man!”

The man nodded, “Yes, you see that was the problem. I have no use for _good_ men. They don’t get the job done. They find ways of going around it, doing the morale thing, helping their sons escape…that sort of thing. Anyways, I didn’t come all the way here to discuss your dear old dad. We have more important matters to attend to.”

Dean bit his tongue from saying something he knew he’d probably regret. Instead, he resorted to asking a question. “Who are you?”

The man’s smirk turned into a grin. His eyebrow twitched. “Name’s Crowley. I’m in control here. You could say I’m…King of Hell. Or at least… _your_ hell.”

Crowley turned to the other man who had been slowly circling Dean. “And this…this is an old friend of mine. He’s helped me out quite a bit. You’ve heard of him, or I assume you have. He’s going to be spending some quality time with you. I’ve asked him to take time away from his other…patients…and devote some time to you. Let’s just say you’re being put on the rack. You see, I’m running an experiment. I’m testing to see if a man with wasted potential will finally come to the realization that he was made for something greater.”

Dean’s brow furrowed, he wasn’t liking where this was going. “And what realization might that be?”

“I’ll let my dear friend Alastair fill you in. I have some things to attend to. I do hope you come to that realization before too much harm is done. It would be a pity to waste time while you recover.”

Crowley left the room, leaving Alastair to smile wickedly down at Dean. The man took a step closer to him, invading his personal space and leaned down so he was literally face-to-face with Dean.

“I’ll make you an offer, Dean Winchester. I’ll take you off the rack if you assist me with the other pour souls. It’s a fair offer, you must admit. All you have to do is start.”

Dean’s eyes narrowed. “You can stick it where the sun shines. I will never assist you in anything.”

Alastair’s smile widened to a terrifying grin. “Let’s have some fun then, shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for another cliffie. I debated on stopping before Dean wakes up in the new room, but I really wanted to introduce who the boss was and who his friend was. If you didn't catch it...Alastair is the one who was hired to kill Cas's parents. I don't know if I made that catchable or not. Sorry if I didn't. Anywho...I hope y'all don't hate me. I have some plans in store for Ruby, so she will be making another appearance, don't worry. If something doesn't add up right, let me know and I'll fix it or explain my reasoning, or whatever. Let me know what you guys think so far!! I'd really be interested in some feedback. BY THE WAY!! Did anyone catch any references throughout the chapter? There were at least 4 from the series and two from different movies. Hint: One is a kids movie and the other is a Madea movie. Those who get the correct ones will get a mention in the next chapter. Also...maybe even a character named after them? We'll see!! Let me know!!! =D


	14. Resourceful, Resilient, And...Ruby?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alastair and Crowley have a little bit of...fun with Dean. Much to Dean's displeasure. Cas gets a message that shreds his heart to pieces and creates a ball of pure fury at the same time. Dean's nothing if not resourceful and resilient. What's Ruby's part in it all?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...no one even took a guess at what the references might have been. Either no one got them, no one cared, or no one read the notes...So...the contest is still on. If anyone can tell me the references, I'll still give a reward. Come on! It'll be fun! Please?

**Chapter 14**

Cas closed his eyes against the disappointment and the fear that was hanging over him like a menacing cloud. They’d been too late.

Cas opened his eyes and looked around the warehouse. His eyes latched onto the chair with cut ropes laying around it. He knew Dean had been tied to that chair, endured who knew what in that chair. He forced his eyes away from it, but the sight they found wasn’t any better.

John Winchester’s body lay in pieces. Most of it was still intact, but from the neck up was a really mess. Cas didn’t envy the crime units whose jobs it were to clean up messes like that. He made a mental note to suggest cremation instead of a casket.

A hand came down on his shoulder and he looked up to find Balthazar standing beside him. “We found Dean’s phone in another building, along with his wallet. There was a body found behind the warehouse. Gun shot wound. A couple of feet away was the phone Dean used to call you.”

Cas nodded, “Did they find anything else?”

Balthazar shook his head, “Looks like they grabbed everything and took off. With Dean. There wasn’t any more blood found, so that’s a good sign. It means Dean wasn’t injured when they left.”

Cas shook his head, “He is injured. He hurt his knee the other day saving a small boy from being hit by a truck. He was using crutches, but recently switched to a brace. There is no way he hasn’t injured it further. That brings the chances of his escape down dramatically.”

Balthazar squeezed Cas’s shoulder reassuringly. “Cassie, we’ll find him. Alive. We found him once, we can find him again.”

Cas looked deep into Balthazar’s eyes. “I hope you are right.”

**SPN**

Dean hissed in pain. He couldn’t stop his reactions from showing anymore. He’d been trying to hide the pain, but it was futile. Alastair was relentless with his blades.

“You know…some say I’m Picasso with a razor. Would you say that’s accurate, Dean?”

Dean looked up at the man who held a razor dripping with his blood. All he could manage was a grunt. His throat was sore from screaming in pain. His chest ached with every breath he took. Pain was shooting through his entire body, not just his knee.

There were intricate curves, lines, and swirls, all carved into his flesh. He had to admit, his chest did look like some kind of painting. A very sick painting made by a psychopath…but a painting nonetheless.

Dean’s head rolled to the side. He was begging his body to pull him under, allow him to escape the pain for a little bit, take a break for a while, but that wasn’t happening. He was strong. That was the one of the one times Dean cursed himself for being as strong as he was.

The only thought getting him through the never-ending pain was the knowledge that Cas would find him. Cas found him when Jake had him, he could find him while Crowley had him. Dean was sure of it. He just prayed that he would find him sooner rather than later.

“I’ll say it again. All you have to do for this to stop is to assist me. You can get off the rack. The torture will cease. Your pain will end. It’s a fair deal, Dean. All you have to do is accept.”

Dean looked up at him and spit a glob of blood at his shoe. “Go to Hell.”

“Oh, I’ve already been there. It was too boring, so I came back. This is much more fun.”

Dean swore under his breath. This guy was a real piece of work. He needed to be admitted into some kind of hospital.

_Or just shot and put everyone out of their misery._

Dean ground his teeth together. He needed to get out of this alive. He needed to get back to Cas. He had to get back to Nikki, to Sam. Things were finally starting to go his way. He was falling in love, he’d found his twin sister, and he’d found the little brother he’d lost. There was no way he would let that slip through his fingers. He had to get back to them.

The door opened and Crowley walked in. A smile appeared on his face as he took in all of Alastair’s handiwork. “Well, well. Looks like you two have been having some fun, I see. Now, let’s have a bit more fun, shall we?”

Dean glared at him, but didn’t say a word. Crowley pulled out his phone and raised it up so it was positioned facing Dean. He hit a button and then looked directly at him.

“Say hello to your boyfriend, Dean. I’ll be sending this video to him to show him just how much fun we’ve been having.”

Dean didn’t look at the phone. He glared right past it at Crowley. “You can go straight to hell.”

“Now, now, Dean. Where would be the fun in that? Besides. This is just the beginning. You’ll be reunited with your boyfriend. I wish I could say it’ll be a happy reunion, but…it won’t be. For you anyways. On the bright side, it’ll all be over for you. Castiel will watch the light dim from your eyes as you die a very slow and painful death. And then we’ll do the same to him, but after some…carving.”

Dean growled at Crowley. “You won’t lay a finger on him. I told him to stay away from this, to stay away from you. There’s no way you’re getting your hands on him.”

Crowley’s smile widened. “Ah, Dean. You know so little about love, don’t you? You see, I saw the way he looks at you. A man does not simply stay away when the one he loves is kidnapped and tortured. They’re right smack in the middle of it. He’ll be here if he ever wants to see your pretty little face again.”

Dean’s eyes flicked to the little camera facing him. His eyes softened for a moment, silently telling Cas, begging him, to stay away, to stay safe.

Crowley turned towards Alastair, but kept the camera pointed at Dean. “Why don’t you demonstrate for our friends watching this, what exactly will be in store for Castiel when he arrives.”

Dean saw the menacing grin out of the corner of his eye. Fear seized hold of him before he could stop it. He knew it’d flashed in his eyes and he knew Cas would see it. His eyes flicked away from the camera and watched as Alastair moved towards his table of equipment. When Alastair turned around, Dean saw what was in his hands: a piece of cloth and a jug of water.

Dean’s eyebrows furrowed for a moment before he realized what exactly he planned to use those items for. The recognition flashed over his face before his eyes widened. Alastair walked closer to Dean until he was standing right behind him, that way Dean was still in full view of the camera. Dean glanced up at the phone one last time, sending Cas a silent message, before his head was yanked back.

Alastair placed the cloth over his mouth tightly and held his head back. Dean saw the wicked smile that didn’t seem to disappear for too long from his face right before Alastair raised the jug. Water started pouring over Dean’s face. Dean struggled against his bindings, but it was futile, there was no way to break loose.

Water rushed down Dean’s chest, washing away the blood that had been covering most of the carvings. The sight of the cuts was enough to make a person sick.

Dean continued to struggle as water was rushing into his nose and down into his lungs, preventing him from breathing. His body started shaking at the lack of oxygen. He couldn’t do anything to break free from Alastair. All he could do was struggle without success. His vision started to tunnel and black was creeping its way in. A part of him heaved a sigh of relief, the torture would end. Another part of him wanted to scream in anger.

Just as his eyes began to roll into the back of his head, the water stopped and Alastair removed his hand from over Dean’s mouth along with the cloth. Dean sucked in breath after breath, greedily taking in oxygen. The tunnel vision disappeared and his head rolled to the side. His chest was heaving, trying to suck in as much oxygen as he could. As soon as the cloth had been taken away, he started coughing up water.

He knew he needed to get it out of his lungs. It burned. It made it hard to breathe. He could feel the bruises on his wrists from the chains when he struggled against him. He was almost positive he may have fractured his wrist from straining it so much.

When Dean got enough energy, he looked up at Crowley. He knew he looked weak. He knew that when Cas saw this, he would be furious.

“Is that all you got?”

Crowley’s grin widened. “That’s the spirit! Maybe there is hope for you after all. Now…is there anything you want to say to your little boyfriend before we say goodbye?”

Dean thought for a moment before turning to the little camera. “Remember that train we took? Sitting in that small, confined compartment? The one with three cars filled with guys? They gave Nikki a hard time, but you shut them up.”

He started moving his hands, trying to get circulation back into them. “It was slow, but fun. We-.”

“Are you seriously talking about a train ride…? How dull.”

Crowley didn’t turn the phone around, he kept it pointed at Dean, but he directed his speech towards the phone next. “Castiel, you have three hours upon receiving this to be at the specified location or else your precious Dean will die. Alone and slowly. It’s up to you, of course. So long.”

He clicked a button and slipped the phone into his pocket. “I’ll be sure to send that to him to give him a bit of motivation. Now, behave yourself. Or not. I don’t really care.”

Crowley turned and left the room, letting the door bang shut behind him. Dean stared at the door, praying Cas was as smart as he knew him to be.

**SPN**

Cas sat down heavily into a chair. They’d spent hours combing the grounds around the warehouse searching for clues, anything that might lead them to where Dean was. They’d found nothing. He put his head into his hands. He had no idea where to go from there.

Nikki sat down next to him silently. “I take it you didn’t find anything at the warehouse.”

Cas shook his head and looked up at her slowly. “Nothing that will help us find Dean. But…there is something you should know.”

Nikki’s brow furrowed. “What is it, Cas?”

“We found John’s body in the warehouse. It seems while he was helping Dean escape…things didn’t go as planned. I’m so sorry.”

Nikki’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. She wasn’t quite sure how to feel exactly. She’d never known the man. She’d never met him. She didn’t even know what he looked like. But…he was her father. A part of her ached for the knowledge that she would never know him, never meet him.

Cas’s phone began to ring and he pulled it out. It was a call from an unknown number. He looked up at Henricksen and nodded. Victor turned and pointed to a uniform who began to furiously type away at his computer as Cas answered the phone and put it on speaker.

“Samuels.”

“Hello, Agent Samuels. Meet me in the empty parking lot behind the abandoned hotel in three hours. If you do not show up…consider Dean Winchester as good as dead. You will never see him again, I promise you that. Show up alone, unarmed, and no wires. Or else the same fate will happen. Oh, and I will be sending you some motivation. See you soon.”

The line dropped dead, the call too short to get a trace on it. Cas’s brow scrunched. He was scared to know what the motivation would be. He didn’t have long to think about it before his phone beeped saying he had a new message. When he looked at it, he found a video.

Henricksen glared at the phone. “Send it to your email. We’ll pull it up on the big screen to view it.”

Cas nodded and sent the video. Soon, one of the uniforms had it pulled up on the forty-two inch screen that sat next to the white board. The uniform hit play and Cas felt like he’d been punched in the gut when the first thing they saw was Dean chained to a chair, bloody.

Dean was glaring at the person behind the camera. He had a black eye and a cut lip, but that wasn’t what caught Cas’s eye. His chest was coated in a layer of slick, fresh blood. He could see the pain sitting behind Dean’s eyes even though he wasn’t looking directly at the camera. He heard Nikki suck in a breath at the sight of her brother. It was a painful sight, but they had to watch it.

The voice from the calls came over the line. “Say hello to your boyfriend, Dean. I’ll be sending this video to him to show him just how much fun we’ve been having.”

Cas fought back the bile that threatened to climb up his throat. That man called torturing his boyfriend fun. That was sick. Cas almost smiled when he heard Dean’s rough voice. “You can go straight to hell.”

“Now, now, Dean. Where would be the fun in that? Besides. This is just the beginning. You’ll be reunited with your boyfriend. I wish I could say it’ll be a happy reunion, but…it won’t be. For you anyways. On the bright side, it’ll all be over for you. Castiel will watch the light dim from your eyes as you die a very slow and painful death. And then we’ll do the same to him, but after some…carving.”

Cas wanted to growl, but refrained himself. “You won’t lay a finger on him. I told him to stay away from this, to stay away from you. There’s no way you’re getting your hands on him.”

Cas bit his lip. It was true, Dean had told him to stay away from it, but there was no way he was going to. He suspected Dean knew that as well.

“Ah, Dean. You know so little about love, don’t you? You see, I saw the way he looks at you. A man does not simply stay away when the one he loves is kidnapped and tortured. They’re right smack in the middle of it. He’ll be here if he ever wants to see your pretty little face again.”

Cas’s heart felt like it shattered when Dean’s eyes finally flicked to the screen. It seemed like they connected with his. It felt like they were staring straight into his soul. He saw the message sitting plainly in his eyes. Dean was begging him not to go anywhere near that man. He was begging him to stay safe, but he just couldn’t do that. Not with Dean’s life at risk.

Cas’s blood ran cold when he heard the next thing out of that man’s mouth. “Why don’t you demonstrate for our friends watching this, what exactly will be in store for Castiel when he arrives.”

Cas saw fear flash through Dean’s eyes before he could stop it. It broke his heart to see Dean afraid and know there was nothing he could do to wipe away his fear. All he could do was stand there and watch the video. The video of something that had already happened. Dean had already gone through this, it wasn’t happening right at that moment, but it might as well have been.

He watched Dean’s eyes move and focus on something off camera. His eyebrow’s furrowed for a moment before realization flashed across his face. A sinking feeling landing in Cas’s stomach and he knew he was not going to like what was about to happen if the look on Dean’s face was anything to go by.

A tall man walked into the frame carrying a jug of water and a cloth. Immediately, they all knew what was about to happen, but they all stayed silent, watching, hoping they were wrong. Dean’s eyes seemed to connect with Cas’s again, sending him another silent message. This time it said… _I love you, Cas._

Those words, though silent, sliced deep into Cas’s heart. They’d never said them aloud to each other yet, but it was written plain as day in his eyes. Cas watched in horror as Dean’s head was yanked back and a cloth was placed over his mouth. The man raised the jug of water and began pouring it over Dean’s face. They watched as Dean struggled against the chains, against the hand pressed against his mouth. They watched as the water slid down his chest and washed away all of the blood. What they saw as the blood ran down his chest made Cas’s knees go weak and he had to lean against a desk in order to stay standing.

There were intricate carvings in Dean’s chest. There were lines, swirls, curls. It looked as if a painter had gone to work on his chest, but with a knife instead. It made Cas sick to his stomach even more so than before as he saw the torture. He was forced to watch as Dean continued to struggle against the chains. His knuckles had turned white from gripped the chair so tightly. No matter what he did, the man was stronger.

After what felt like hours, the man lowered the jug and removed the cloth from Dean’s mouth. Cas watched, his eyes glued to the screen, as Dean sucked in breath after breath while coughing up water and choking on it. His head rolled to the side and he continued to cough. When he was finally able to stop, Cas saw how weak he was. He saw how broken Dean was becoming. And he hated that man even more than he thought he did, or could. A ball of fury erupted inside of Cas and he wanted to lunge through the screen and strangle the men hurting Dean.

After a few moments, Dean’s eyes moved up towards the man behind the camera again. His voice was rougher than before, but held an edge to it. “Is that all you got?”

Cas almost smile. Dean was tough. He had to be after some of the things he’d gone through. He was proud of Dean, proud of how strong he was, proud of how resilient he was.

“That’s the spirit! Maybe there is hope for you after all. Now…is there anything you want to say to your little boyfriend before we say goodbye?”

There was a moment before Dean looked back at the camera. Cas saw something behind his eyes: a fire that didn’t seem extinguishable. “Remember that train we took? Sitting in that small, confined compartment? The one with three cars filled with guys? They gave Nikki a hard time, but you shut them up.”

Cas’s brow furrowed. They had never taken a train ride before, let alone with Nikki. He was wracking his brain for what Dean would possibly have meant when he saw his hands start to move. It all began to dawn on him. This time he actually did smile.

“It was slow, but fun. We-.”

“Are you seriously talking about a train ride…? How dull.”

Cas wanted to punch the man again for cutting Dean off, but he couldn’t. Not yet anyway. “Castiel, you have three hours upon receiving this to be at the specified location or else your precious Dean will die. Alone and slowly. It’s up to you, of course. So long.”

The video ended and the entire room remained silent, but not for long. Cas quickly moved over to the board and began writing what Dean had said. Victor stared at him, clueless.

“What are you doing?”

Cas didn’t turn around, he kept writing. “Dean sent me a message. He knew I would understand.”

“That’s great! What is it? Because I got nothing out of a story about a train ride…”

Cas finished writing and turned to him. “We never rode a train. The day he got out of the hospital, we went and met Nikki. Two days later, we left for California. There was no time or need to take a train anywhere. He was telling me there was a train nearby. Three of them.”

Realization seemed to dawn on the entire room. Victor stepped up to the board and read over the words. “Okay. What does the rest mean?”

“The small, confined compartment means he’s in a small room. There’s a door, but no way to escape. Probably a guard standing outside as well. The line about Nikki…I believe it means that the group who has him is made up of all males and one female. That is the only thing that makes sense to me. He said it was slow. That means the trains were moving slow, probably coal trains or other cargo trains.”

Victor’s lips parted. “Wow. You got all that from a couple of sentences about a damn train. Okay. Anything else?”

Cas nodded and looked at the uniform who had played the video. “Play back the part where Dean is talking about the trains.”

The uniform went back through the video and played it as Dean started his message. When he paused, Cas said, “Stop! Right there. Play this part slowly.”

The cop typed a few keys and made the video run a lot slower. Victor shifted his weight. “What exactly are we looking for?”

Cas pointed at the screen. “There. Dean’s hands start moving. That’s what made me realize he was sending a message. Subtle movement, but enough to catch my eye.”

Victor shook his head, still not following. “He’s moving his hands…What’s so significant about that?”

Cas wanted to growl in frustration, he didn’t have time to explain everything. “He’s doing sign language. When he was in the hospital, he told me he learned sign language years ago. He even showed me how to do the alphabet. Watch his right hand. He’s spelling something.”

Cas turned back to the board and wrote the letters as Dean signed them. “C. R. O. W. L. E. Y. On his right hand, he’s spelling Crowley. I’m assuming that’s the name of the man behind the camera. There, see? He gestures towards him. Now, go back to where he starts moving his hands again.”

The cop did as he was told and played the video. “His left hand this time. He’s spelling…A. L. A. S. T. A. I. R. Alastair. Then he gestures towards where that other man had moved off to. I’m guessing his name is Alastair.”

Victor nodded, a smile forming on his face. “Good! What about the rest?”

Cas nodded, “Play the rest.”

He wrote the rest of what Dean signed on the board. He’d continued signing through when Crowley was talking. “R. U. B. Y. T. O. M. D. U. A. N. N. E. Ruby…Tom…Duanne. I’m guessing they’re names of people in the group who have him.”

Victor shook his head. “Wow. He was able to send us all of this information in that amount of time. That’s…wait. He said the name Ruby? And that there’s only one female there?”

Cas nodded, looking at Victor. “Yes, I believe that is what he was saying.”

Victor turned and walked over to the desk. He dug around in a drawer before pulling out a file and flipping it open. After a moment, he looked up at Cas. “We have an undercover cop working in a gang unit. She’s the only female in the group, the rest are males. Her name’s Ruby.”

Cas’s eyes widened. “Your cop is in that gang? Can we get a message to her?”

“She’s scheduled to check in any minute. When she does, we’ll get a location from her and fill her in. Looks like the chances of getting your boy back are increasing, Agent Samuels.”

Cas nodded, looking over at Nikki and Balthazar. There was hope shining in both of their eyes. They finally had the lead they’d been searching for. Now, it was only a matter of getting a location and going in.

Cas just prayed they got there in time. He’d seen the damage that had been done to Dean already. He was still recovering from the damage inflicted by Jake. Cas was worried about how much damage had been done this time. And how much of it was unrepairable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone like how resourceful Dean was? And how he used his brain and was able to send Cas a message that he understood? I've been trying to figure out how in the world I was going to get Dean help...and then as I was writing the part after Dean was waterboarded...it just came to me! So...there we have it. Sorry for those who thought it was too easy or whatnot. I don't want to make this overly complicated. And...haven't we had enough Dean whump for a while? No? Well...no worries, there will be more Dean whump to come. Rest assured! ^.^


	15. Linebackers Instead of Cheerleaders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean undergoes more torture, but that's not the highlight of this chapter. More is in store for our favorite plaid-wearing nurse. Also, there are some more characters that we all know and love who pop out of nowhere. Is it a welcome surprise or will it bring more pain to Dean?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know it took me forever to update. I'm sorry! Be lucky...I wasn't going to stop where I stopped this chapter. I had a LOT more in store for this chapter, but I thought I would give you guys a break and end it on a semi-cute note instead of the extremely intense stuff. Don't worry! More intensity to come!! ^.^ Also, the next chapter is all out-lined. All I need to do is type it all up.

**Chapter 15**

Dean closed his eyes against the pain that had his entire body throbbing. After Crowley had left, Alastair hadn’t eased up on his ‘fun’. He’d made Dean suffer through more of it for hours. Dean had felt himself slipping away quite a few times, but every time Alastair would throw cold water on him or do something else to wake him back up so he could continue his torture.

Alastair had finally relented, claiming he had other pour souls to attend to and had left him be. That had been half an hour ago, or that’s what it felt like. Dean couldn’t keep track of the time, he had no idea how long he’d been in there. He wanted to desperately take a hot shower, curl up in bed with Cas and then sleep for days. He’d gotten little to no sleep since he’d been kidnapped and it was definitely taking its toll on him. Not that he would be able to get any sleep if he’d had the chance. Not with Cas not with him, next to him.

He finally felt himself beginning to drift off when the door flew open, making him jump. He expected Alastair to be back, ready for another round, but instead it was Ruby. She glanced down the hallway, checking the area it seemed like. Dean saw the boot of someone lying on the floor. His mind raced. Was she here to finish him off? Or was she here to help him?

She walked into the room and pulled out a key. She quickly got to work on unlocking the chains binding him to the chair.

“What are you doing?”

Ruby glanced up at him before looking back at the chains. “Saving your ass, what does it look like?”

A bubble of excitement made its way up Dean’s chest. “Why?”

“I’m not who I appear to be. That’s all I’m going to say right now. We don’t exactly have the time to discuss it at the moment if you hadn’t noticed.”

Dean nodded and let her work on the chains in silence. When they fell away, he gingerly stood up, careful with his knee. It was painful to even move an inch and she noticed immediately.

“How much did they hurt you?”

“My knee was already hurt, but I injured it further when I tried to escape. And my chest…well…that’s obvious.”

He looked down at his bare chest and grimaced. His shirt had been torn to shreds, leaving his chest exposed. Her face lit up for a second before she reached into her jacket. She pulled out something small, black, and folded.

“I almost forgot. Here. I brought you a new shirt to wear. I heard talk about what he did, figured you’d be needing a new one.”

“Thanks.”

He peeled off his old shirt, if you could still call it a shirt, and Ruby helped him pull on the new one. It was hard to move without opening up one of the cuts. When that was done, her face turned serious. “We need to go. Now.”

He moved to walk and his knee gave out. She caught him before he went down, but there was no way for him to walk properly or even just limping. She pulled his arm over her shoulders and wrapped hers around his waist.

“Come on. We don’t have much time.”

They started moving down the hallway, slowly, but surely. They made it most of the way down the hallway before they passed a door. Right as they were passing it, Dean heard a moan filled with pain. He stopped abruptly, causing Ruby to come to a halt. “What are you doing? Why are we stopping?”

“There’s someone in there. They’re in pain. We can’t leave them.”

She shook her head, “Dean, we might not even have time to get out ourselves. We certainly don’t have the time to be getting anyone else out as well. We have to move.”

He shook his head. “No, I’m not getting out of here and just leaving people here to die. That’s not what I do. If you haven’t heard, I’m a nurse, I help people. I don’t care what happens to me, but I am not just leaving them to die when I can do something.”

“But you _can’t_ do something! You can barely walk! Dean, we have to go now if we want to get out of here. I wasn’t able to get word to my boss before I came for you. So no one knows we’re here yet. If we don’t get out of here and let them know where we are…we’re as good as dead.”

Dean shook his head, “I don’t care. I’m not leaving these people. That’s final. You can go ahead and leave. I’ll get these people out myself. You go on and get out of here, call your boss, let him know where we are.”

Ruby sighed loudly. “Fine. But we have to hurry.”

They burst through the door and Dean froze at what he saw. “Cassie…?”

Her head snapped up and her eyes locked with his. Recognition flared through her eyes, her face lighting up. “Dean…? What…What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been held here. We’re escaping. And you’re coming with us.”

She nodded, a smile lighting her face. Ruby got to work on her ropes as Dean quickly inspected her injuries. “We’ll need to grab a med kit before we leave.”

Ruby rolled her eyes, wondering what other tasks they would have to accomplish before they would finally be able to escape. Cassie looked up at Dean. “We have to get the others. They’re in the next hallway. There aren’t many. Only six more.”

Dean nodded, “We’ll get them out.” He shot a look at Ruby, daring her to argue. She ignored it, of course, but Dean could tell she wasn’t happy at wasting more time they needed to be using getting themselves out of here.

They got out of the room and made their way to the others. Dean looked at Ruby. “You get some medical supplies and we’ll get these people out of here.”

Ruby nodded, “Finally some multitasking at least. I’ll be back in five minutes. You better have them all out by then or else we’re leaving whoever’s left.”

Dean nodded and he and Cassie got to work on freeing the others. There weren’t too many injuries, but some needed attention, and soon. One of them had a gunshot wound on her thigh, making it hard to walk, but not impossible with some help. A younger girl had a deep gash on her stomach that Dean would have to take care of soon. A skinny, lanky guy had a head injury and brunette had a broken arm. The bone was sticking out of her arm it was so bad. The other two were fairly uninjured. They had many cuts and bruises, but nothing life threatening or severe. They were the lucky ones.

Ruby appeared with a backpack. “Come on. I was barely able to get back here. Time’s up and we need to move now or we won’t be getting out of here.”

Dean nodded and they all started their way towards the exit. They had to duck into rooms, avoid being seen. They were almost caught several times before they finally saw the exit. When they made it outside, Dean glanced around the area. “That was too easy.”

Ruby nodded, “I agree. Come on, we need to get into the woods, find cover.”

Their disheveled group made their way into the woods. After a fifteen minute walk, Ruby smiled. “There. It’ll provide us enough cover until the cavalry arrives and we get the hell out of here.”

It was a decent sized fort made out of brush, sticks, trees, you name it. It seemed like Ruby had had this planned for days and snuck out there to build it for when the time came. Dean maneuvered everyone toward the fort. Thankfully, it was big enough for all of them to fit inside with some extra room to move around in. When they were all inside, Dean turned to Ruby. “Medical supplies?”

She pulled off the backpack and handed it to him. “Along with some rations and water. That was all I was able to find.”

He unzipped it and pulled out two medical kits along with some granola bars, some bags of chips, and bottles of water. He opened up the medical kits and smiled. They were well stocked with medicine, gauze, tape, gloves, everything he would need. Or…most of what he would need.

He looked up at the girl with the gunshot wound and smiled softly at her. “I’m going to treat you first. There’s no need to worry. I’m a nurse and I know what I’m doing, okay?”

She nodded, shaken up and scared. This is where his training came in handy. He was used to dealing with people in this state. He’d dealt with many accident victims who were very shaken up. He helped her lay back and get comfortable. He pulled on the gloves, pulled out some supplies and got started on her leg. He wasn’t going to take the bullet out there, but he needed to stop the bleeding and disinfect it. He knew the best course of action would be to get her talking, keep her mind distracted from what he was doing.

He smiled at her, “So what’s your name?”

Her eyes met his and he saw the fear clear as day. “Anna.”

He nodded, “It’s nice to meet you, Anna. My name is Dean. How old are you?”

“Twenty-three.”

He kept asking her questions, easing her mind. He could tell it was helping her to relax and in no time, he was finished. “See? We’re done. The bullet is still in there, I wasn’t going to try to take it out. It’ll be fine until we can get you to the hospital. You’re all patched up and good to go. I’m going to give you some ibuprofen for the pain.”

She nodded, a small smile forming on her lips. “Thank you, Dean.”

His smile widened. “It was no problem, really. Now who’s next?” He looked over at a girl who was probably only a teenager. He remembered she had a gash on her stomach and knew she needed to be next. He moved over to her and sat down.

“What’s your name?”

“Charlie. You’re Dean Winchester, aren’t you?”

His brow furrowed and he nodded, “Have we met before?”

She shook her head, a sad smile coming to her face. “No. Every time Alastair came into my room, he would talk about someone named Dean Winchester and how much potential he had. He wasn’t happy to see it ‘wasted’.”

Dean grimaced and nodded. “Yeah, that’d be me.”

She rested her hand on top of his. “Thank you for getting me out of there. I wasn’t sure I ever would.”

Dean looked back up at her and smiled. “I couldn’t leave anyone there. It’d be more cruel than what Alastair does. I’d never be able to live with myself if I had just left.”

She nodded, “I know what you mean.”

He gestured to her shirt, “Do you mind? I need to get it cleaned up.”

She nodded, “Go ahead. Oh, and don’t worry. I know you’re not some perv trying to get into my shirt. My gaydar’s pretty sharp.”

He glanced up at her, an eyebrow raised. “Your gaydar?”

She nodded, “Yeah! I’m gay too. What’s his name?”

He blushed slightly, ducking his head and focusing back on the injury. “Cas. His name is Cas.”

She smiled softly. “You really love him don’t you?”

He nodded, his thoughts swirling around the blue-eyed man. “Yeah, I do. It probably sounds cheesy, but…I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

Her grin widened. “Yeah, that’s pretty cheesy, but no worries. It’s cute. What does he do?”

“He’s an FBI agent. He’s the one looking for me. He’ll get us all home, I know he will. He’s a good agent. The best there is.”

Her eyes lit up. “I don’t doubt it. Sounds like he’s your knight in shining armor.”

He chuckled, “What does that make me? The damsel in distress?”

“Well…you _are_ in distress, but…you’re not exactly a damsel. More like…Dude in distress.”

Dean couldn’t help but laugh. “You and I are going to get along just fine.”

It didn’t take him too much longer to finish patching Charlie up, he moved on to the next one. Cassie sat down next to him and smiled. “It’s been a long time, Dean.”

He glanced up at her and nodded, “Yeah, it has. How have you been?”

She nodded, “Good. Well, other than getting kidnapped and sitting in that damn room for a week.”

He nodded, “Why did they take you?”

She shrugged, “They never said. Who knows. They’re psychopaths. Do they need a reason for anything they do?”

He chuckled, “Good point.”

She stared down at her hands. “I haven’t seen you since you disappeared all those years ago. I always wondered where you went. Why you left.”

He looked back up at her. “I had to leave, Cassie. I didn’t want to, but…Dad needed me. I had to go with him.”

She nodded, “Yeah, I understand. But you never even said goodbye. You just vanished. I looked for you for…I don’t know how long, but I never found you. You just disappeared.”

“Yeah, that’s what I was good at. I’d been disappearing for years, never staying anywhere for long. That’s how Dad wanted it. We never stayed anywhere for more than two weeks, maybe three. I begged him to let me stay, but…he wasn’t having it. He’d warned me not to get attached, but…it’s easier said than done.”

Cassie’s eyes connected with his. “You know I always told myself that if I ever saw you again…I’d punch you in the face for breaking my heart. But when I saw you in that room…I was just so happy to see you. I was in shock. Hell, I still am.”

Dean bit his lip. “I never wanted to hurt you, Cassie. That was the last thing I wanted to do. Besides my dad…we were just kids. You know as well as I do that it wouldn’t have worked out.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Well, enough with the past. What have you been up to these days? Other than getting kidnapped and tortured, that is.”

He chuckled, “Well, after Dad disappeared ten years ago, I finally went to med school. I’m a nurse at the hospital where I work and I’m studying to be a doctor.”

Her eyes lit up. “Good! You were finally able to settle down, go after your dreams. Was anyone able to steal the heart of the infamous Dean Winchester?”

A smile appeared on his face, his eyes softening as he thought again of Cas. He could feel his cheeks getting warm, but he couldn’t stop it.

“Oooh! There is! And it’s serious, too! What’s her name?”

Dean bit his lip again. “Well…um…about that…”

Her brow furrowed. “What is it, Dean?”

“Well…after we broke up…er… I _left_ …I’d broken my own heart. I could barely function properly. I’d always known I was attracted to…but I’d never given any thought to it really…but then I thought…maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much if I gave it a shot. So, I did. And, well...it kind of stuck.”

“Dean…what the hell are you talking about?”

Dean frowned. “Cassie…I’m gay. Or…I guess bi? Whatever.”

Her eyes widened and she didn’t say anything for a long moment. He concentrated on disinfecting a cut, letting her mind absorb the information.

“So, you’re gay…and you went gay after you left me…?”

He nodded, not looking at her.

“So, I essentially turned you gay. Interesting.”

He looked up at her, taking in her reaction. She didn’t seem upset, just shocked. He’d been a womanizer back then so it wasn’t surprising that she was shocked to hear he played for the opposite team now.

“So, what’s his name?”

The smile returned to his face. Just thinking about him made him smile. “His name is Cas. Castiel.”

She smiled, “So…you’re in love with someone who’s name is a lot like mine?”

His brow furrowed, thinking about it. “Huh. I never thought of that.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, Dean. You haven’t changed a bit. Well…you go for the linebackers now instead of the cheerleaders, but…other than that, you haven’t changed a damn bit.”

He chuckled, “Neither have you, Cassie. Neither have you.”

Ruby stuck out her hands towards Dean. “Hand me the backpack.”

He did as she asked and she started rifling through it. Her eyes widened and she searched frantically. Dean’s brow furrowed. “What’s wrong?”

She looked up at him. “I stuck my phone in here so it didn’t fall out of my pocket. It’s not in here. I have no way to call my boss.”

Dread sunk into Dean’s stomach. Cas had no way to find them other than from the message he’d been able to send him through the video. “That’s not good. What are we going to do?”

Ruby shook her head. “I’m going to have to go back, look for a phone. I’ll have to knock out one of the guys and steal his. That’s the only way we’re going to be able to get ahold of them. The woods are too big. There isn’t anywhere to go, not with wounded. You stay here, keep an eye on them. I’ll be back.”

Dean shook his head, “You shouldn’t go alone. It’d be better to go with someone else.”

She shook her head, “I can move faster alone. Besides…You’re injured. You need to rest and take care of yourself, finish helping these people. I’ll be fine. I’ve been working undercover with these guys for months. I know them.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’re a cop?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m a cop. I haven’t been able to get in touch with my team since you showed up. They’ve been locked down more tightly than before. They don’t know it was the same gang that took you that I’ve been working for.”

Dean shook his head, “Actually…I’m pretty sure they do.”

Her brow furrowed, “What do you mean?”

“I was able to call Cas when I escaped back at the warehouse. I’m pretty sure they were able to trace the call. That and I was able to send him a message. Crowley took a video of Alastair…having some fun. After he was done, I sent him a message. I signed your name along with Crowley’s, Alastairs, and two others.”

Her eyebrows raised. “You sent him a message? What did you say? Other than our names.”

“I told him the gang was made up of all guys and one girl: you. That I was in a small room with no way to escape. And that three slow trains had gone by. That gives him something to work with on a location.”

She nodded slowly, “Wow. I have to admit…I’m impressed. Who would have thought you had the brains to come up with that.”

He rolled his eyes. “Just…be careful.”

Ruby nodded her head before ducking out of the fort. Dean focused back on the guy with the head injury. He was a bit worried about the injury. He’d lost a lot of blood and was a bit…loopy.

“Where’s Mr. Fizzles?”

Dean looked down into his eyes, confused. “Mr. Who?”

His face was a picture of seriousness. “Mr. Fizzles. My sock puppet! You haven’t seen him, have you?”

Dean shook his head, even more worried. “No, I haven’t. Sorry, dude.”

A younger kid, one of the uninjured ones, scooted closer to Dean, lowering his voice. “Don’t worry. He’s always been like this. Well, not as bad, but…pretty close.”

Dean looked at the kid. “Well, that’s good to hear. I think. Do I even wanna know what he does with his sock puppet?”

He grimaced, “Dude, _I_ don’t even wanna know and I’ve known the guy for years. So, probably not. Name’s Kevin, by the way. Kevin Tran. And this…Is Garth.”

“Dean Winchester.”

“Oh, Marmaduke, you’re crazy!”

Both of them looked back at Garth with frowns on their faces. Dean nodded, “Yeah, I think we need to get him a hospital as soon as possible. Just in case.”

Kevin nodded. “Yeah, agreed.”

 

About forty-five minutes later, Dean started getting antsy. Ruby should have been back by now, but she wasn’t. There was no sign of her still. Dean glanced outside and surveyed the area, weighing his options. There wasn’t a whole lot he could do with a group of injured people in the middle of the woods with no phone.

He turned back to the group and took in their condition. There was no way they could protect themselves, or at least not most of them. Benny, Cassie, and Kevin were probably the only ones who could really fight off attackers effectively.

Dean made up his mind and looked at Cassie. “I’m going after Ruby. She’s been gone too long. If I’m not back in an hour, head west. There should be train tracks. Follow them until you come to a town.”

Cassie shook her head, “Dean, you can’t go back there by yourself. Besides, you’re hurt. You can barely walk!”

“I can manage. Cassie, if she needs help then I need to be there for her. She’s the one that got all of us out of there alive. And besides, we don’t know if she was able to get to a phone or not. If she hasn’t, then there’s no one coming for us. I have to go make sure help is on the way.”

Benny shook his head, “She’s right, brother. You’re in no condition to help anyone right now.”

Dean was getting annoyed, but he didn’t let it show. “Guys, I’ll be fine. I’ve been in more fights than I can count. All I have to do is balance my weight and I’ll be fine. This isn’t up for discussion.”

Cassie sighed, knowing just how stubborn Dean was. When he made up his mind to do something, there was no talking him out of it.

“Okay. But, Dean…be careful.”

He nodded, “I will. And you too. Take care of them.”

He moved out of the fort and took a deep breath. He wasn’t all that excited about what lay ahead of him. He took a step and grimaced. Pain shot up his leg, but he pushed it down. He’d taken some ibuprofen and it was helping, but not by much. He put up a wall inside his mind and did his best to block out the pain. Instead, he concentrated on Cas and what he would do once he got back to the building.

It was slow going, walking back through the woods alone. It took him a little bit longer than it had the first time, but he made it just fine. He hid behind a tree on the very edge of the woods and took in the area, keeping an eye out for any of the men. When there was no one around for a few minutes, he edged out into the open and made his way towards the building.

He would have figured the building to have more security. He was really shocked he was able to get in and out so easily. He knew it couldn’t be a good sign. It was far too easy.

Once inside, it didn’t take him long to find someone walking around. He made his way up behind him slowly, being careful not to make any noises. When he was right behind him, he wrapped his arm around his neck and squeezed the same way he’d done the first time he’d escaped. He squeezed just enough and just long enough to make him go unconscious. Dean spotted an empty room nearby and he dragged him inside, shutting the door most of the way.

He dug around inside the man’s pockets until he found a cell phone. He pulled it out and dialed Cas’s number. It didn’t take long for Cas’s deep voice to come over the line.

“Samuels.”

“Cas! It’s me. I was able to escape again thanks to Ruby, but I don’t know where she is and I don’t know how long I have until I’m found.”

“Dean! We’re running a trace now on the phone. Ruby was supposed to check in hours ago, but we didn’t get the call.”

Dean swore under his breath. “We escaped into the woods, but when we got where we were going, she discovered her phone had fallen out of the bag somewhere. She went back for it to call you. She wasn’t supposed to be gone that long, but she never came back. I came back to the building to find a phone myself.”

“How bad are your injuries, Dean?”

Dean bit his lip. He really didn’t want to worry Cas more than necessary. “Cas, I’m fine, really. My knee hurts like hell and I’m pretty sure I might have ripped a muscle, but I’m fine.”

“Dean, you’re chest-.”

“I know it looks bad, but the cuts are a lot shallower than they look. They bled like hell, but they aren’t that deep. As long as many of them don’t keep reopening, I’ll be fine. Are Nikki and Sam okay?”

“They’re both fine, worried about you, but fine.”

Dean nodded, glancing out of the room. “Good. Keep them safe, okay?”

“I would never dream of doing otherwise. The trace is almost complete. Just another minute.”

“Okay. Good. It’s too easy.”

There was a pause. “What is too easy?”

“Ruby and I got out way too easily. And then I got back in way too easily. Something’s not right.”

“Dean…be careful.”

“I am. I’m hiding in a room at the moment, but I have to go find Ruby. She could need help.”

“No, Dean, just stay where you are. We’re coming for you and then we’ll find Ruby. I need you to be safe.”

“Cas, she could be in trouble. Alastair could be torturing her like he did me. Who knows how long it’ll take for you to get here. She can’t wait that long. He could kill her.”

“Dean…He could kill you too. When he finds out you escaped if he hasn’t already, he will be very angry, I am sure. He will most likely kill you if he finds you.”

“I don’t think he will. They seem to want me for something other than the joy of killing me. They keep talking about how much potential I have. They’ve been trying to turn me into Alastair. If anything, they’ll torture me some more. I can survive that until you get here and find me. I don’t break that easily.”

“Dean…”

Dean heard Cas’s voice break on that one word and knew how hard it was for Cas. He knew how worried Cas was about him.

“Cas, baby, I’ll be okay. When we get out of here _together,_ I am going to take you on a proper date, okay? The one I promised you that we haven’t had yet. It’ll be the best first date you’ve been on.”

“Dean, I do not believe it would qualify as a first date. We have technically been together for about three weeks.”

“We’ve been together, but we’ve never gone on an _official_ date. And we will. I promised you one and it will happen. I will make sure of it. Romance, candles, the whole shebang.”

“Dean, what is a shebang?”

Dean rested his head against the wall and fought back the laughter he could feel bubbling up into his chest. This was one of the many reasons why he loved this man. “Oh, Cas…I’ve missed you so much. When I get out of here, I’m going to be attached to your hip for a while.”

He could practically hear Cas’s grin through the phone. “That is alright with me, Dean.”

Dean was about to respond when he heard footsteps. “Someone’s coming.”

He pressed himself against the wall and focused on the footsteps. After a moment, he heard a man’s voice. “Where the hell is Robbie? He was supposed to be guarding this hallway.”

Another man’s voice, a familiar one, responded. “I don’t know. He’s not answering his phone, either. Maybe he stepped out for a smoke or something.”

They started back down the hallway, away from the room Dean was hiding in. Dean let out a breath, relieved.

“Dean? Are they gone?”

“Yeah. They walked away. Did you get a trace yet?”

“Yes, we’re already on our way to you now.”

“Good. I’m going to go try to find Ruby now. When you get here…be careful, Cas. I need you in one piece and alive.”

“Dean, it is not…be careful as well. I also need you in one piece and alive.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. Cute note? Happy I didn't wait until I had more written? Tell me what you think. ^.^ Also...I will tell you there is a plot-twist coming. Anyone care to venture a guess as to what it might be?


	16. A Twist In The Plot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The cavalry arrives to save Dean, but what will happen between the time Cas walks in the building and when he's quickly running out of it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SOOOO sorry for the month-long wait!! Oh my goodness, I cannot even imagine having to wait after the last chapter. I am incredibly sorry. Life happened, and yeah. No excuse. I hope y'all will forgive me!!! Also. The winner of the reference contest is announced. Congratulations, Erica!

**Chapter 16**

Dean turned the phone on silent and then slipped it into his pocket in case he needed it later. Who knew what could happen between now and when Cas showed up. He stood and opened the door slightly, peering out into the hallway. It was empty like it had been before he’d made the call. It was bothering him how easy everything was.

For a gang that was notorious for murdering and torturing people, this was far too easy. He knew it must be a trap, but he didn’t see any other option than to sneak down the hall in search of Ruby.

He passed many doors, all open, revealing the rooms that lay behind them. They were all empty. Dean looked around, trying to figure out what the trap was. Was it for him, to get him back? Was it for Cas? Let him escape and get him to lure Cas there? Or was it for Ruby? Did they find out she was actually a cop working undercover and wanted to seek their revenge on her for spying on them? Any one of his theories were plausible. He just wished he knew which one it was.

He continued down the hallway, keeping his eyes and ears open for any movement. He walked passed a door and stopped. It had been the first door to be closed since he’d entered the building. He turned around to go check it out, but spun around when he heard another door open. Two men appeared in the hallway with smug looks on their faces.

“Well, well, Dean. You came back. Didn’t think we’d be seeing you again after you escaped. It’s a shame you were stupid enough to come back.”

He heard the door behind him open and he turned to see two more men appear. One of them was carrying a rifle and he snapped his arm out, connecting the butt of the rifle with Dean’s head. Dean’s legs gave out and he sank into darkness before he hit the floor.

**SPN**

Cas was tense as they approached the building. He had a really bad feeling about what was about to happen. He knew it wasn’t going to be good. They surrounded the door before opening it and walking through. It hadn’t been more than a few seconds before they were made and gunfire could be heard. Cas saw a big group of men running towards them, all heavily loaded with weaponry. They were ready for a war.

There was nothing to use for cover or protection. All they had were their bulletproof vests and their guns. There were many casualties, both of cops and gang members. A lot of people took fire and went down. As far as Cas could tell, none of the cops had died, but he wasn’t too confident on how well this was going to play out.

He was eyeing the men shooting at them, looking for weaknesses. That’s when he saw it. One of the men took off down a separate hallway alone. No one made to follow him. Except for Cas.

He thought that maybe if he followed him…maybe he’d be able to find Dean. He was hoping he was lucky enough for the man to lead him straight to him.

They’d gone quite a ways from the firefight before the man suddenly stopped and spun around, pointing his gun at Cas. Cas stopped, pointing his own gun at the man.

“FBI, lower your weapon.”

The man smirked. Suddenly there was a sharp pain on the back of Cas’s head and he went down, losing consciousness before he landed.

**SPN**

Dean woke to find himself in a large room. There were no windows and one door. He was tied to a chair with his hands behind his back, but this time with rope instead of chains. He cracked his neck to release some of the tension from his head. It was pounding.

He heard a sound behind him and whipped his head around to try and locate it. There was someone else in the room, but they were too far behind him for him to see them. It was frustrating and slightly terrifying.

“Whoever you are…you can come out now. I know you’re back there. There’s no point in delaying the inevitable.”

There was a beat of silence before the door opened. Dean looked over and it felt as if his heart had stopped. Two men carried an unconscious Cas into the room. They had gotten to Cas. That was the one thing Dean had been terrified for it to happen. He’d warned Cas, told him to stay away from the place, but he was stubborn and hadn’t listened. In the back of his mind, he knew that it meant the cops were here and that everything would eventually be okay, but…they had Cas now. That’s all Dean could think about as they set a chair next to him, propped Cas on it, and tied his hands behind his back the way his were.

He couldn’t take his eyes off of Cas. “Cas…damn it, Cas.”

“It’s funny what a silly thing like love can make people do.”

Dean recognized that voice, but…it couldn’t be. There was no way that that was possible. No, it had to be someone with a similar voice, but Dean knew in his heart that that wasn’t the case. He’d known this whole time that something wasn’t quite right, but he’d shaken it off, he’d refused to even acknowledge it for the most part.

Dean turned his head slowly to the side, waiting for them to make themselves known. He heard footsteps walking towards him and he knew that it was time to find out if his suspicions were true. He didn’t want to look up and see, but he knew he had to.

He lifted his eyes and they locked onto the last pair of eyes he wanted to see standing there. “Mom…?”

Mary grinned wickedly. “That’s right, pumpkin. It’s your dear ole mother.”

 

Cas woke slowly. He didn’t open his eyes, but took in his surroundings with his other senses. He could hear two people talking, arguing. It took a moment for his mind to clear before he was able to make out what was going on.

“I can’t believe this. What the hell do you have to do with all of this? Please tell me you’re not involved with these men…”

Cas opened his eyes and saw that he was in a bleak room. It was large, but dark. There were no windows and only one door. He noticed he was tied to a chair, his hands behind his back. He looked around and his eyes widened. He hadn’t been expecting what he saw.

Dean was tied to a chair the same way Cas was and he was staring at the last person Cas had expected to see: Mary.

Mary smirked and tilted her head slightly. “What’s wrong, baby? Not expecting to see your mother working with the men who kidnapped and tortured you?”

Dean huffed, “You could say that.”

Mary noticed Cas was awake and turned to him. “Ah, I see you’ve finally awoken. It’s about time. You were about to miss all the fun.”

Dean turned and looked at Cas. Cas could see the confusion and the pain evident in his eyes. He was so relieved to finally be looking at Dean in person, but that relief was watered down by the situation they found themselves in.

“Dean…are you okay?”

Dean nodded, not worrying about himself as was usual. Cas tore his eyes away and looked up at Mary. He was thoroughly confused as to why she was standing there.

Dean looked back at his mother. “What are you doing with them? What have you done?”

The wicked smile on Mary’s face returned. “Just about anything you can imagine, I suppose. I’ve been with them for almost my entire life. My parents died when I was very young, the group took me in, raised me in their ways. You know…your father always thought it was fate that brought the two of us together. I’d say more along the lines of careful planning and lots of stake outs.”

Dean tilted his head slightly. “You’re saying you planned on marrying him before the two of you met?”

Mary simply nodded. “That’s right. It’d been planned for years. He was part of another group, so we’d never met before. The leader of mine and the leader of his made a deal. The deal was for the two of us to get together, they left the rest up to me as a part of my…initiation, I guess you could say.”

“Initiation? For what?”

“For my leadership, of course. It was all planned out from the beginning that our two groups would join together and that I would lead them. John didn’t know about any of it. That’s the way I wanted it. I wanted him clueless, left in the dark. We got married and he didn’t suspect a thing. I knew he wanted children, so I gave them to him. When I found out I was having twins, well…that’s when I got an idea. I knew that I could only handle one brat at a time, so I arranged for some blackmail against John. I had someone under my command blackmail him and then steal one of my children. When I found out that John had only told them of one of the children, well…I was surprised. I thought he was loyal to the group, boy was I wrong. I told them to take the little girl. I knew that it would hurt him more if it was his little girl. And it worked. He was ripped to shreds when that little girl went missing. The only hard part was pretending that I was too.”

Dean shook his head. “You’re sick.”

Mary chuckled, “I wouldn’t say that. I’d say...invested.”

“ _Invested?_ Invested in what? The black market?”

Cas looked between Dean and his mother. He’d stayed silent throughout the conversation so far, curious as to where it was all going.

“And here I thought you were smart. I was invested in your lives. All of them. I sent Nikki to live with a couple from the group. They raised her, pretended she was theirs, pretended to be the idealistic American family. I was stuck with you though. For six long years I was stuck with you, pretending to mourn the loss of my missing daughter and being a good mother to my only son. It was horrible. I hated every minute of it. Then I found out I was going to have another child, Sam. It gave me the perfect escape from you, Dean. When your father helped you escape, did he tell you he let me find out about him being in a gang? Did he tell you that I was supposed to take you with me when I left? I was the one who pushed your father to the point where he had to let me find out. It was my plan to leave you there the whole time. You wondered why your mom could take your little brother but leave you behind? It’s because I didn’t want you, Dean. I never wanted you. I couldn’t wait to be rid of you and start over without you.

When your father packed everything up and left, I had someone following you, keeping an eye on you. I watched you throughout your entire life and you never even knew it! I was the one who sent someone after your father ten years ago, telling him that if he went with them, you wouldn’t be harmed. I was the one who took your father away from you, Dean. Of course, I hadn’t counted on you finding Ellen or Bobby, but…they don’t really matter. And that’s when another little plan of mine came into action. Once I was rid of you and your father, I could start my other plan. I’m sure you met my friend Alastair, haven’t you?”

Dean glanced at Cas, nervous about the connection between the two, before looking back at his mother. “What did you do…?”

“Oh, nothing much really. I simply hired him. Well, then I went on stakeouts and made plans…it was a lot of work, especially with a baby at home, but I managed. I’m sure the two of you are familiar with his handiwork, what he’s best known for.”

Dean didn’t like where this was going, not one bit. Cas looked at Dean, desperate for all of this to be some big practical joke the two of them had orchestrated and they could all just laugh about it and go home.

“I’m sure you remember a string of murders lasting over several years. A murdering spree that targeted families. The families would be tortured in front of their children and then the children would be taken elsewhere, murdered, and dumped. I was the one who picked out his targets. I watched them for days, mapping out their routines, when they would all be home, together. I would give him the information and send him inside to have some fun. Cas…I’m sure you in particular remember this certain spree of events. After all, it did happen in the area where you grew up, isn’t that correct? Wait a minute…that’s right…correct me if I’m mistaken, but weren’t your parents murdered in a similar fashion?”

Cas’s jaw clenched. His heart started pounding and his breathing picked up. He tried to appear unaffected, but the truth was he was furious. The woman responsible for the death of his parents was standing right in front of him, not giving a care in the world about it. And there was nothing he could do about it.

Dean stared at her, his lips parted incredulously. His voice started rising as he spoke. “I can’t believe it. It was _you?!_ You’re behind all those murders? You’re the one who sent that sick bastard in to kill Cas and his family?! Who _are_ you? You are not my mother. You have _never_ been my mother.”

Mary smirked. “You got that right. I never wanted to be either. You were just a pawn in a game of chess. Hell, you still are.”

Dean shook his head, he was enraged. The thought that his mother, the woman that would tuck him in every night, kiss him on the head, and whisper that angels were watching over him was responsible for all of this was too much to handle. The same woman who would hold him when he got hurt, kiss the top of his head when he walked by, sing Hey Jude to him instead of a lullaby because it was her favorite song…This was the same woman who would hold him after he’d had a nightmare, the woman who would bandage his cuts and tell him it’d be okay…This woman stalked innocent men, women, and children and lead them to their deaths. She was responsible for the death of the parents of the man he loved.

“You can go straight to hell! I didn't deserve _any_ of this. Dad didn't deserve this. Nikki, Sam, Cas...none of us deserved this. So, _why_?! Why did you do this?”

"Because it was fun, Dean. Because I enjoyed watching every thread fall apart. Why do you think Cas moved to Kansas after his parents died? Why did he go there? Because his mentor told him it was the best place for him. Who was his mentor? Oh, a little friend of mine undercover. See...I've had my hand in every single thing that has ever happened to you. You know that accident you were in? Where the drunk driver hit you? He wasn't drunk. He was a member of my group. I was tired of you. But...those damn paramedics were able to bring you back somehow. You remember Jake, I'm sure? Mm, yes. I was the one who told him you were a womanizer who had one-night stands with innocent women. I also told him you have several bastard children because of it. I knew that he would act on it. So, I sent him after you. Now Cas getting your case...that was just like the pieces falling together. That was perfect. I called in a favor and got him assigned to you. He found you and saved you. You fell for him. He fell for you. That made you both easy targets. That's how I was able to lure you here.

See...I knew you'd come if you found out where I was. It was only a matter of time, Dean. Did you really think I still wanted you after all these years? That I wanted you at all? I mean, I never looked for you. Well, I knew where you were obviously, but you didn't know that. You're just a stupid, arrogant, bastard child living on borrowed time. You should have been dead years ago. You’re lucky you're even alive. But...not for long. And the same goes for your precious Cas. He'll be reuniting with his dearly loved parents very soon. Don't worry. Oh, and just another little fact you should know…when your father helped you escape, I’m sure you later found out that he was killed, am I correct? I was the one who pulled the trigger. I walked in after the men did and shot his brains all over the ground. Oh, and that impala of yours? Not so inconspicuous. I made you as soon as you hit town. I had people following you ever since you crossed the town line. I knew where you were at every second.”

“Why didn’t you just kill us then? Seems like you’re pretty good at it.”

Mary chuckled darkly. “I could have, yes. But where would the fun have been in that?”

Dean shook his head. “Then I guess it’s safe to assume you’re the one who had them kidnap me.”

Mary’s smile widened. “See, you’re finally getting it! Yes, Dean, I had them kidnap you. I gave Crowley specific instructions. I was worried that you may escape, but…given your heroism that caused you to hurt your knee…that took you escaping out of the picture. Once they moved you here, I instructed Alastair to see if he could…persuade you. I told him to use whatever method he deemed fit. I saw that he did a marvelous job.”

Cas’s brow furrowed. “If you told him to do whatever he wanted, then how do you know what he did to Dean?”

Mary looked over at Cas dismissively. “I was at the precinct when the video came through. Quite clever, using that as motivation. I was quite impressed.”

Cas shook his head. “No, you weren’t. You weren’t there. The only time you were at the precinct was right after Dean was taken. You were questioned, then you left.”

Mary looked at him accusingly. “I was there, Cas. You must not have seen me. That, or it may have been while you were gone.”

Cas shook his head, “The only time I left the precinct was after Dean called the first time and we traced the call. When the video came in, the only one there who wasn’t a cop was Nikki. The only way for you to have seen that video is if Crowley also sent it to you, which makes no sense, or you have someone on the inside, someone who was in the precinct when we received that video.”

Mary tilted her head in his direction. “You’re smarter than you look, you know that? I’m surprised you were able to figure that out.”

Dean looked up at her. “You have a cop working for you?”

She rolled her eyes at him, “Of course I have a cop working for me. I’m not stupid.”

Cas’s anger was rising. On top of everything else, he was finding out they’d been betrayed by someone they had all trusted, someone who was one of them. “Who is it?”

“You really think I’m going to tell you that, Castiel?”

Cas shrugged. “You might as well. You’re going to kill both of us anyway, right? That’s your plan? Otherwise, it’d only work against you for you to have told us as much as you have. We’re liabilities. You don’t need either of us, in fact we’re both supposed to be dead anyway.”

Mary nodded, “You’re quite right, Castiel. It is in my full intention to kill both of you. I want you both to watch as the light fades from each other’s eyes, watch the pain both of you will be in, watch each other suffer before you succumb to death. It will be truly beautiful to watch, I assure you.”

**SPN**

Crowley swore under his breath, turning away from the door. “That bitch! I should have known she was ignorant and cocky. Does she really underestimate those two that much?!”

Alastair leaned against a table, crossing his arms over his chest. “It appears so. I didn’t picture her to be stupid, but what do ya know. What do you wanna do about it?”

Crowley rubbed a hand furiously down his face. “We’ve got cops surrounding the building and scouring the whole facility. Mary _idiotically_ kidnapped a _federal agent_ while there are _several other_ federal agents as well as cops running around looking for him! It’s bad enough we already have a cop down here with us, but she brought an FBI agent down here _as well?!_ That daft bitch.”

Alastair looked over at Ruby. She was strapped down to the table by her wrists, ankles, and mouth. “Why don’t we just kill them all and escape ourselves?”

Crowley stared at Alastair as if he had two heads. “Do you realize how much time and effort we have put into the Winchester case, let alone the Novak case? Years! Thirty-one years, to be exact! We are not going to just throw in the towel because the little bastards have us cornered.”

Crowley paced the room a couple of minutes before looking over at Ruby. “Although…I do have an idea.”

“Don’t be shy, Crowley. What’s the plan?”

Crowley opened the door and walked across the hallway, leaving Alastair looking after him. He glanced over to Ruby who glared at him. He chuckled before standing and following after him. He walked into the room Crowley had entered and watched as he picked up some dog biscuits from his desk and walked over to his two giant dogs who were black as night. Crowley had had the dogs for as long as Alastair could remember.

“What are you going to do? Feed them to the dogs?”

Crowley looked up at him and smiled wickedly. “Not quite, but close.”

**SPN**

The entire time Mary was telling them everything, Cas was working a pin loose from his watch. The pin had a sharpened end that would be able to cut through the ropes. He’d began working on the ropes around the time she’d told them why she had done the things she’d done, how it was fun to her.

Cas glanced over at Dean. He was too angry with his mother to notice Cas working at the ropes, but that was fine. Cas was determined to get both of them out of there alive and in one piece.

“So tell me, Mary, who is your contact? You might as well tell us before the fun begins. You’re killing us anyway.”

Dean glanced in his direction, wondering what was going through Cas’s mind, but Cas didn’t look at him. He maintained eye contact with Mary, staring her down, waiting for her to tell them.

“You’re right. I might as well tell you. It’s not like you’ll be living long enough for anyone else to find out. It’s Henricksen. I’ve been working with him for years now.”

Cas’s jaw tightened. “Henricksen is your contact? The lead investigator is working for you?”

Mary smiled, “That’s right. He told me about that message Dean sent to you through the video. Though, he didn’t get it to me in time for me to stop you from finding him. I had planned on keeping him for a couple of more days before allowing you to find him and then die with him. Oh well, the sooner you both are out of my hair.”

Dean shook his head. “There’s one thing I don’t understand.”

“Oh, is there only one thing, Dean?”

Dean resisted the urge to call her a whole list of profanities. “Crowley and Alastair kept talking about how they were trying to recruit me. They wanted me to be like Alastair. Why would they go to all that trouble to try and turn me into him if the plan all along was to kill me as soon as you got your hands on Cas?”

Mary chuckled darkly. “The plan wasn’t to recruit you. I just told them that to make them feel important, give them something to do. No, I never told anyone the real plan until now.”

Dean shook his head. “They’re going to be pretty pissed when they find out you were playing them this whole time. Alastair is a dangerous man to have pissed at you. I’m sure Crowley can be capable of striking some kind of fear as well.”

Mary shook her head. “You really think I’m scared of those two nugatory fools?”

Dean shrugged. “I don’t know. They’re capable of a lot of damage, especially Alastair. Cas and I can both vouch for that.”

Cas almost had the ropes free. All he needed was another couple of scrapes against the pin and…Yes! The ropes slackened and he knew he’d be able to pull his hands free. He slid the pin back into his watch just in case he’d be needing it again. He found his gun laying on the table behind Mary and calculated in his mind if he’d be able to get her away from it before she could shoot him. It was far enough away from her and her arms were crossed over her chest. He reasoned he had a very high chance of succeeding.

He glanced at Dean. He saw the look and his eyes traveled towards Cas’s. Dean saw a look in Cas’s eye that he’d never seen before. He knew that Cas was in cop mode and suddenly he knew what was about to happen. He wasn’t sure how it was possible, but this was Cas and he knew not to underestimate him. Then another thing flashed through his eyes. He was asking permission. It was beyond him why Cas would need to ask his permission to attack his mother, but he’d ask him that later. For now, he simply nodded subtly and let Cas know that whatever he was about to do was okay with him.

Cas looked back at Mary and took a deep breath. Dean was still watching him, waiting for him to make his move. Mary had turned slightly, looking down at her phone as if expecting a call or a text from someone. Cas knew she had underestimated him. That was obvious. And that is what gave him an advantage.

In one quick move, he slipped his hands out of the ropes and lunged forward for his gun. Mary saw the movement and stepped between him and the gun. Cas collided with her and they both soared over the table, landing on the ground. They’d managed to knock over the table in the process, making the gun slide out of reach.

Cas struggled against her, fighting her to get to his gun. She knew the right spots to aim for. She aimed for the kidneys, his jaw, his groin, all the places that would make him hesitate or slow him down.

He’d been expecting her shots though and was fending off every blow. She’d only managed to land a couple to his jaw. He slammed his fist into her stomach, making her double over. That gave him the perfect opportunity to scramble for his gun. He reached it just as she grabbed his ankle and pulled him back towards her. Luckily for him, he’d managed to wrap his fingers around it before he was pulled out of reach.

She flipped him onto his back and was about to hit him again when he fired a shot into her shoulder and then kicked his feet out, slamming them into her stomach. She flew backwards and landed on the ground, hard.

Cas didn’t waste time. He jumped to his feet and ran towards Dean. He knelt down behind him and got busy untying the ropes. Before he could finish, the door opened and all three of them turned to see who it was. Crowley was standing there with a smirk on his face.

“So, just as I thought, you managed to underestimate the federal agent. How surprising. Oh, and I also happened to overhear the part where you were telling them how you lied to us. I don’t really think that was a smart move, do you, love? Because from where I’m standing…you’re the one laying on the ground bleeding from a gunshot wound because you underestimated a _cop_ and I am standing here laughing about what is about to happen. Would you care to venture a guess as to what that might be?”

Dean and Cas shared a look, not sure if they would like what was about to happen. Cas quickly finished untying Dean’s ropes and moved around the chair to stand on Dean’s left side. He pulled Dean’s arm over his shoulders, wrapped an arm around his waist, and helped him to his feet. He knew Dean wouldn’t be able to walk without help.

Crowley smirked. “No? Well, okay. Suit yourself.”

He turned his attention to Dean and Cas. “I’m here to make a deal with you boys. I have Ruby in the next room. I’m willing to give you Ruby and let the three of you go. In return, you allow Alastair and myself to simply hide out down here until you and your cop buddies leave. You tell them we escaped somehow, that only Mary was down here, tell them whatever you like, but then we get away. Deal?”

Cas swore under his breath. “Deal. Now let us go.”

Dean’s jaw tightened. “You can do whatever the hell you want to her. We’re leaving her in your capable hands. Or should I say Alastair’s capable hands.”

Crowley smiled. “Great! It’s a deal then. I had no intention of letting her go with you boys anyway. No, that bitch is mine.”

Cas lead Dean forwards toward the door. Right before they exited, Dean looked back at his mother, knowing it would be the last time he ever laid eyes on her. “I hope you rot in hell.”

Mary smiled wickedly at her eldest son. “Oh don’t worry about me, Dean. I’ll see you there.”

Crowley stepped aside to let something in. “Sick ‘em boys.”

Before Cas or Dean knew what was happening, two giant, black as night dogs raced into the room and descended on Mary. Cas quickly pulled Dean out of the room, her screams of agony following them as they went. Quicker than any of them wished, her screams died out and silence surrounded them. Dean looked over at Crowley, ready to be out of there. “Where is she?”

Crowley nodded. “Right to the pleasantries, I see. Sorry about your mum, by the way.”

Dean shook his head. “I’m not. Now give us Ruby so we can get the hell out of here.”

Crowley nodded, “Alastair, would you be ever so kind and bring our guest out here? The Winchester and his pet angel want to leave.”

Ruby and Alastair walked through the door of another room. Ruby could walk, thankfully. He shoved her in their direction and she came to a stop right before colliding with Dean. Dean looked up at Crowley and nodded, receiving a quick eyebrow raise and a nod in return.

The three of them made their way through the basement and up the stairs. Ruby pushed open the door and they caught their first whiff of air that wasn’t stuffy.

Cas turned to Ruby. “My partner Balthazar is here. He has a British accent. I need you to go find him for me. Tell him where Crowley and Alastair are hiding, having him take several uniforms with him.”

Ruby nodded and took off down the hallway in search of Balthazar. They made it a few feet down the hallway before Dean’s legs gave out and he went down. Cas caught him and lowered him gently to the ground.

Dean looked up into his eyes. “Cas, there’s a group of people in the woods. Most of them are injured. It’s about a 15 minute walk going north. They’re hidden in a fort made from rocks, brush, branches, that sort of thing. They need help.”

Cas nodded, placing a gentle hand on Dean’s cheek. “Dean, do not worry about them. I will send someone to find them. We need to worry about you right now.”

Dean shook his head and a soft smile formed on his lips. “I’m alright, Cas. You found me and got me out of there.”

“Of course I did, Dean. I just hope you can forgive me for shooting your mother.”

Dean chuckled humorlessly. “Consider yourself forgiven. I just wish Alastair had gotten his hands on her before Crowley did. I’m probably going to Hell for that, but…I don’t care.”

Cas smiled reassuringly. “You have every right to think that, Dean. After everything she has done to you, your family…”

“Don’t forget your family. I’m so sorry, Cas. If you don’t…If her being my mother is a problem…”

Cas cut him off by pressing his lips gently to his. When he pulled back, he had a soft smile resting on his lips. “Dean, you are nothing like your mother. I would never leave you or even _consider_ leaving you because of her. She’s gone. She’s never coming back to mess with any of us or hurt anyone ever again. We don’t have to worry about her anymore. We can live our lives without looking over our shoulders. We have all the answers we were looking for. Now all we have to do is move on and be happy with what we have instead of what we missed out on or what we lost. I don’t know about you, but…I know that my future is going to be a happy one.”

Dean smiled up at Cas. “As long as I have you, it will be.”

Cas’s smile widened and placed another gentle kiss on Dean’s lips. When he pulled back, he noticed how pale Dean was getting. “Dean, we really need to get you to the hospital.”

Dean nodded, “Yeah, we do. Several of the cuts opened up a while back and haven’t stopped bleeding. I’ve lost a fair amount of blood, so I’d say it’d be a good idea.”

Cas looked up, searching for anyone who could help them. He saw someone heading down the hallway towards them. “We need a medic down here! Hurry!” He saw them turn around and run back where he’d came from. He prayed they’d get a medic in time.

Cas looked back down at Dean. “Help’s on the way, Dean. You just have to hang in there, okay? You’re not dying on me today. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

Dean chuckled. “That was my line, you ass.”

Cas forced a smile onto his face. His worry was increasing. Dean was becoming more and more pale, but there was nothing he could do.

“Cas…Nikki and Sam. If I don’t…”

“No, don’t you dare finish that sentence, Dean. You’re going to be fine. We’ll get you to the hospital and you’ll be just fine. Don’t you dare think about giving up on me.”

Dean shook his head. “Not giving up, just making sure just in case.”

Cas huffed, “I won’t need to look after them because that’s your job and you’re going to be the one to do it. You’re going to get better and get to know your siblings. You’re going to make fun of each other and argue like normal siblings. You hear me?”

Dean nodded, “Loud and clear.”

Cas rubbed his thumb along Dean’s jawline. He couldn’t lose this man. He knew it would rip him to shreds if he lost Dean.

“Cas…when I get out of the hospital…you know what we’re going to do?”

Cas smiled, “What’s that, Dean?”

“We’re going to dress up and go on a proper date. You deserve romance, candles, soft music…everything. Hell, maybe we’ll even dance if you’re lucky.”

Cas chuckled, “I cannot wait, Dean. That sounds perfect to me.”

Dean’s smile widened. “It will be. Cas…”

Cas saw that his eyes were getting heavier, but he was fighting it. He faintly heard someone running down the hallway towards them. “Yes, Dean?”

Dean looked deep into Cas’s eyes. “I love you, Cas.”

Before Cas could respond to him, his eyes slipped shut and his head slid to the side where it rested against Cas’s arm. “Dean! No. No no no no no…Damn it, Dean!”

He felt for a pulse and found it, but it was weak. He looked up as someone approached them. It was a paramedic. “He just passed out. He said he’d lost quite a bit of blood from the cuts on his chest. Please, you have to help him.”

The woman smiled kindly at him and moved Dean so he was resting flat on his back on the floor. “My name is Erica. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure he makes it through this, okay? I’m going to need your help.”

He nodded and they got to work. After she checked for a pulse, she instructed him on what to do. They carefully lifted him onto the gurney she’d brought with her and strapped him down securely. They worked together as they pushed the gurney down hallway after hallway until they reached the entrance. The cops standing by made a path for them, allowing quicker access to the doors. They loaded him into the ambulance and jumped inside.

After the doors had closed and the ambulance was on its way, she looked up at him and offered another kind smile. “He’s lost a lot of blood, but I think he’s going to be okay. We got to him just in time. What’s your name?”

“Agent Castiel Samuels. I’m with the FBI. This is Dean Winchester.”

Erica nodded. “Okay, what can you tell me about what happened to him?”

“They carved into his chest, making several cuts that bled profusely. They waterboarded him at least once several hours ago. His knee was injured before he was kidnapped, but has been injured further I’m guessing since he was taken. That’s all I know.”

Erica nodded, “That’s a big help. I’ll be sure to let the doctors know what you just told me.”

Cas nodded, “Thank you for all your help.”

She smiled, “You’re very welcome. It’s what I do.”

Cas remembered what Dean had told him about the group in the woods. He pulled out his phone and quickly sent a text to Balthazar, telling him about the group and also about Henricksen, making sure he was arrested. He let him know that they were on their way to the hospital and that he would let him know Dean’s status later.

After the text was sent, he dialed Nikki’s number and held it to his ear. It rang only once before he heard her frantic voice over the line.

“Cas! Did you find him? Did you get him? Is he okay?”

“Slow down, Nikki. Yes, I found him and got him. We’re on our way to the hospital now. He’s unconscious, but alive. Meet us there and I’ll fill you in on what happened.”

“Okay, we’ll see you soon!”

Cas hung up the phone, slid it into his pocket, and then rested his hand on top of Dean’s. He had to be okay. For everyone’s sake, he had to be.

**SPN**

Dean’s mind slowly brought him into a state of consciousness. He couldn’t open his eyes yet, but he could hear what was going on around him. He could hear Cas talking on the softly on the phone next to him, Nikki across the room talking, and Sam chuckling quietly. His family was here with him.

After a few moments of listening to all of them, he forced his eyes open and looked around the room. He noticed that Cas had ended his call and was looking down at his phone, one hand glued to his own.

A smile came to Dean’s lips. He gently squeezed his fingers to get Cas’s attention. It worked immediately. Cas’s head snapped up causing Dean’s smile to widen.

“Dean.”

Nikki and Sam stopped talking and looked over the bed, finding their brother awake. They jumped to their feet and walked over to the side of the bed.

“How long have I been out?”

Nikki smiled. “Oh you know, just two days. Someone needed their beauty sleep.”

Dean chuckled and shook his head. “You bet your ass. So, what’d I miss since I decided to take a nap?”

Cas squeezed his hand gently. “Detective Henricksen has been taken into custody and charged, but Crowley and Alastair managed to get away. Balthazar thinks there was some kind of hidden passageway down there and they used it. They tricked us into thinking they were cornered, giving them an advantage. Your mother’s body was recovered, identified, and cremated. I filled Nikki and Sam in on what happened in the basement. They know as much as we do now.”

Dean nodded, looking at his brother and sister. “You guys doing okay?”

Sam huffed, “Coming from the guy who was tortured and almost killed two days ago. Yeah, I’d say we’re doing pretty good.”

Dean nodded, “Good.”

Sam looked at Dean. "Oh, and there's one other thing you missed."

Dean looked up at his little brother and smiled. "What's that, Sammy?"

Sam's smiled, despite the nickname. He was getting used to it. "Jess and I talked about it and...given everything that's happened in the few days and everything with Mom, finding you and Nikki...Jess and I are going to be moving to Kansas. We want to be closer to you three."

Dean's eyes widened and he sat up a little. "Are you serious?"

Sam's smile widened. "Yep. We started packing everything up. We even managed to put Mom's house on the market while you were out. We'll need your help finding somewhere to live, of course."

Dean nodded, "Yeah, of course! Wow, that's awesome, Sammy!"

"Yeah, I thought so too."

Nikki and Sam shared a brief look. “We’re going to go grab a bad cup of coffee and something to eat. Either of you want anything?”

Dean and Cas shook their heads, Dean still not able to get over the surprise of getting to have his little brother and his fiance around when they get back home. They watched as the two slipped out of the room and shut the door behind them, giving them some privacy.

“Well, that was subtle.”

Cas chuckled, “I believe it is much better than you would have done.”

Dean shrugged his shoulders innocently. “Got me there.”

“The group of people you told me about were located and treated. They are all doing well. One of them in particular has been asking about you frequently. She’s stopped in a few times to see if you’d woken yet.”

Dean looked down at his legs. “Cassie.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cas nod. “She seemed quite worried about you to be a stranger. Who is she?”

The question was asked innocently, not a single hint of jealously, only curiosity, yet Dean was nervous. “She’s, uh…she’s my ex. When Ruby was getting me out, we found her in one of the rooms. She’d been there for a week. I couldn’t leave here there with Alastair.”

Cas tilted his head slightly towards Dean. “She seems very nice. What happened between you two?”

Dean looked up at him and saw that he really didn’t have anything to worry about. Cas was genuinely curious. He wasn’t jealous or angry about it. “I met her back in high school. She lived in one of the towns we stopped in for a few weeks. That’s the longest we ever stayed anywhere. We, uh, we started dating almost immediately after Dad and I got there. It was great. I really fell hard for her, so did she. Then one night Dad walked in and told me to pack up. I begged him to let us stay, let us finally stay somewhere instead of always moving around, but he wouldn’t have it. He said we had to go, so…we left. I never said goodbye. I figured it’d be easier that way. She could forget about me, move on, find someone else and I could do the same. First time I ever had my heart broken and I did it to myself, imagine that. I never saw her again. Not until I found her in that building, tied to a chair. I still can’t believe it.”

Cas squeezed his hand reassuringly. “I didn’t know you played for both teams, Dean.”

Dean looked at him incredulously. “All of that and _that’s_ your take away?”

Cas simply shrugged. Dean couldn’t help the bubble of laughter that made its way up his chest and erupted from him. “Jeeze, Cas. Yeah, I guess I do. I never played for your team until a few years ago. Caught Cassie by surprise when she asked if I was seeing anyone and I told her I was dating a dude.”

Cas chuckled, “I can imagine.”

He nodded, “Yeah, well, what can I say. My boyfriend’s pretty hot.”

A blush slowly made its way up Cas’s neck, turning his ears red before reaching his cheeks. “You aren’t so bad yourself, Dean.”

Dean huffed, “Please. I’m a fine piece of ass and you know it.” He threw a wink Cas’s way, earning a deeper shade of red to blossom on Cas’s cheeks.

Dean smiled softly at Cas, reigning in the conversation. “Thanks for getting me out of there, Cas. I always knew you would. I never lost hope.”

Cas looked deep into those forest green eyes he’d come to love. “I will never stop coming for you, Dean. No matter what situation you manage to get yourself into, I will always be there to get you out of it.”

Dean’s smile widened a fraction. “I hope so.”

Cas stood from his seat by the bed and sat down on the hospital bed, moving closer to Dean. He placed a hand on Dean’s cheek. Dean swore it was like Cas was looking straight into his soul.

“I’m not going anywhere, Dean. You can’t get rid of me too easily.”

Dean laughed softly. “I can’t imagine ever wanting to.”

Cas leaned forward and pressed his lips against Dean’s in a sweet kiss. After a moment, he pulled back and stared into Dean’s eyes, their noses brushing. “I love you, Dean.”

“Oh, so now you say it.”

Cas rolled his eyes. “You passed out on me before I got the chance.”

Dean chuckled. “I love you too, angel.”

Their lips met again and this time it was more of a passionate kiss, one both of them had been craving for days. Dean’s hands snaked around Cas’s waist, pulling him an inch closer to him. The hand that wasn’t resting on Dean’s cheek found its way onto his chest.

They broke apart a few minutes later, both needing some air. Dean rested his forehead against Cas’s. “We probably shouldn’t continue this or else I don’t think either of us will be able to stop.”

“That would not be a problem with me.”

Dean chuckled, “Yeah, same here, but I don’t think anyone who would happen to walk in would particularly care to see us naked and going at it right here. That, and I doubt you thought to bring some lube with you.”

Cas’s smile kept widening. “Hm, you’re right, Dean. That thought never occurred to me. Maybe it is best if I move away from you now, go sit in my original seat. We wouldn’t want either of us to get any sudden urges to jump the other.”

Dean laughed whole-heartedly. He truly loved this man. Cas pulled away from him, but didn’t move off the bed. He entwined their fingers together and smiled at Dean. Before he could say anything, the door opened and one of the nurses walked in.

“Oh! Mr. Winchester, you’re finally awake, I see. How are you feeling?”

Dean nodded, “I’m fine. My knee kinda hurts, but I expected that.”

The nurse nodded, “You’re scheduled to have surgery tomorrow evening. There’s a ripped muscle that needs to be mended.”

An idea popped into Dean’s mind. “Hey, I have a quick question. Do you think it’d be okay if we hold off on the surgery and I have it done in my own hospital? Nothing against you guys, but I’m a nurse where I’m from and I’d prefer to have it done where I work.”

The lady thought it over before smiling softly at him. “I’m sure that’ll be just fine, but I’ll have to run it by the doctor before I can sign off on it. If that’s the case, I’m sure you’ll be released in the morning. The cuts on your chest are healing up rather nicely and I don’t think they’ll be much of a problem anymore.”

Dean smiled kindly at him. “Thank you.”

She nodded, clasping her hands together. “Is there anything I can get you?”

“Yeah, a cheeseburger would be awesome. I’m starving.”

Her smile widened. “Of course. Anything else?”

His face lit up. “Some apple pie if you have any.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...what did you think about the chapter? For those of you who don't know...the next chapter will be the last one. I know...short notice and right after a whole bunch of stuff went down, but I feel like it's time for this story to come to an end. A lot has happened to Dean in this story and I feel like he needs a break before his next adventure begins. ^.^
> 
> Also. Did anyone notice Erica's prize for winning the reference contest? For those of you who didn't, she got a character named after her! It was the paramedic who came to Dean's rescue. Thank you so much for waiting patiently on this chapter!! And thank you for all of those who have reviewed and said such kind words on what you think! It really means a lot!


	17. Our Journey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wrapping up loose ends. Tying everything together. The ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...this is it. The final chapter. This is very sad...I can't believe it's over...I loved this story...But. It was time for it to come to an end. I hope you all have had as much fun with it as I have.

**Chapter 17**

Dean straightened his tie for what felt like the tenth time. He hated wearing monkey suits.

“Leave it alone, Dean. It looks fine.”

Dean glared at Sam through the mirror. “I hate wearing suits.”

Sam chuckled, “Yeah, I can tell, but it’s worth it, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Why did I have to mention dressing up, again?”

“Because you want it to be a proper date, romance and all. The two of you deserve it after everything you guys have been through.”

Dean nodded, moving away from the mirror. “I just wish I could have done it sooner. Crutches really put a damper on romance.”

Sam snorted and looked at his big brother. “Yeah, that’s obvious. No handholding, strolls through the park, wild sex.”

Dean looked up at him. “Hell yeah! All three of those are the agenda for tonight.”

Sam held his hands in the air and scrunched up his nose. “Whoah, whoah, whoah! I do _not_ want to hear any more details. Seriously.”

Dean chuckled and checked his watch. “Well, it’s time I hit the road. I don’t wanna be late picking him up. Now where would the romance be in that?”

Sam chuckled, “Yeah, I’m headin’ out too. I’m takin’ Jess on a date as well. We haven’t been on one since we got here. We’ve been too busy unpacking and sorting everything.”

Dean nodded, “How’s that going, by the way? Got everything here from California?”

Sam nodded as they slipped through the front door, Dean locking it behind them. “Yeah, everything’s here and accounted for. I got a call from the realtor today. We close on Mom’s house tomorrow. The small house Jess and I had was closed a few days ago. Everything’s good to go.”

Dean smiled. “Good. We can finally leave that part in the past. I’m never going to California again.”

“Aw, you didn’t like screwing up your knee, getting kidnapped, tortured, then finding out your mom was behind everything that ever happened to you, your siblings, your father, and your boyfriend? Then watching her get eaten alive by hungry dogs?”

Dean stopped in his tracks and stared at Sam. “Not so much, no.”

Sam laughed and shook his head. “But no really. I don’t plan on going back there for a long time. I do still have friends there, but…it’ll be a while before I go back. If I ever do.”

Dean nodded, “Yeah. Well, hate to break up this chick flick moment, but I have a date to get to. Tell Jess I said hi.”

“Yeah, will do. Tell Cas I said hi too.”

Dean slid into the familiar seat of his baby and cranked the engine. He smiled as she purred to life. He’d been unable to drive his car for way too long due to the surgery he’d had to have.

He pulled out of his driveway, cranked his tunes, and headed to Cas’s. Time flew by and before he knew it, he was already pulling into Cas’s driveway. He jumped out of the car and jogged up to Cas’s door. He didn’t bother knocking, knowing Cas would scold him for bothering with it. He’d spent enough time in Cas’s apartment to know better than to knock.

He closed the door behind him and called out to his boyfriend. He received an answer telling him he’ll be out in a second and to make himself at home, which he did. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and settled into the couch. His beer was halfway gone when he heard the bedroom door open and footsteps coming down the hallway.

“Sorry about the wait. I got lost in a book earlier and lost track of time.”

Dean chuckled, standing up and turning towards Cas. The words he meant to say died on his tongue as he took in Cas in a tailored suit and tie. He’d seen Cas in a suit and tie before given he was an FBI agent, but he was usually either wearing the trench coat or no suit jacket with the sleeves rolled up.

“Is there something wrong, Dean?” Cas looked down at himself with a frown on his face, not sure if he had a stain or had done his tie backwards like he tended to do.

“No, Cas. You just…wow.” He walked around the couch and stopped in front of Cas, wrapping his arms around his waist and pulled him closer until their bodies were touching. “You clean up nice, babe.”

Cas blushed and rolled his eyes. “You see me in a suit all the time, Dean. It is nothing new.”

Dean nodded, “That may be true, but you’re usually wearing your trench coat over it or you’re not wearing the jacket. And your tie is facing the right way. I’m proud.”

“Bite me.”

Dean smiled. “Oh, feisty tonight. I like it.” He leaned in and planted his lips on Cas’s. They broke apart a minute later.

“Dean, we should probably get going. We have reservations we can’t be late for.”

Dean moved his lips along Cas’s jawline and then down his neck to his sensitive spot. “We got a few minutes. We don’t have to get there right on time.”

Cas groaned. “Dean, if you keep doing that we will never leave the house.”

Dean smiled against Cas’s neck. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

“What about your promises of a romantic first date that I’ve been hearing about for weeks? I thought Winchesters always keep their promises.”

Dean pulled back and glared at him. “You did that on purpose.”

Cas chuckled. “I have no idea what you are talking about, Dean.”

Dean rolled his eyes and stepped away, but kept an arm secured around Cas’s waist. “Okay, let’s go on our first date.”

It was Cas’s turn to roll his eyes, but he let Dean lead him through his apartment and out his front door. He locked it behind them before walking over to the impala. Dean opened the door for him, earning him a smile from Cas.

Dean closed the door once Cas slid inside and walked around to his side, getting in. He started her up and smiled once again as he listened to her purr into life.

The ride to the restaurant was filled with small talk. They told each other about their days. Cas told him how he’d gone on a car chase to track down a murder suspect. They’d ended up catching him in the end. Dean told him about how he’d almost lost one of his patients, because a nurse accidentally wrote down the wrong treatment.

They arrived at the restaurant and were seated immediately. They’d gotten here right on time and their table as ready. They ordered beers for both of them, not bothering with wine even though it was supposed to be full-on romance. Dean just didn’t do wine, but that was okay because neither did Cas.

“So, Dean, are you liking your official title as a doctor?”

Dean smiled, “Yeah. It’s a lot of pressure, but…definitely worth it. Earlier today when I saved that woman’s life…it felt amazing. I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life. The feeling you get when you help someone, when you save them from dying…It’s incredible.”

Cas gave him a heart melting smile. “I know what you mean. It feels good when you can help someone.”

“Yeah, it does. It’s intoxicating.”

Cas chuckled, “Just don’t get high and we’ll be good.”

Dean rolled his eyes and took a sip of his beer. They switched back and forth through topics. They talked about a variety of things: the cases Cas had been working on, how things were going at the hospital, planning a house warming party for Sam and Jess. They went through their entire meal without nothing to talk about. They were constantly laughing at each other’s stories, talking seriously about things they wanted to do, even had a moment where they stared meaningfully into each other’s eyes.

Once they were done at the restaurant, they climbed back into the impala and Dean intertwined their fingers together as he drove them down the road. They kept talking about the most random things. Cas had been completely distracted about what they were talking about and hadn’t realized where Dean was driving them to until he shut the car off by a park they sometimes visited together.

“Dean, what are we doing here?”

Dean smiled at him. “We’re going for a walk. Come on, Cas.”

They climbed out of the impala and walked around to meet in front of the car. Dean wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him in closer to him, Cas doing the same as they started walking down the sidewalk.

This time they stayed silent, reveling in the beauty of the night and the presence of the man they loved. They walked for a good fifteen minutes before Dean spotted a bench off to the side and decided to sit for a while. He steered them in that direction and pulled Cas down onto the bench.

He slid his arm over the back of the bench behind Cas and Cas leaned into Dean, resting his head on his shoulder. Dean felt him sigh softly and knew it was a good sign. He smiled up at the moon, thankful it was a beautiful night and not cold.

“This has been amazing, Dean. Thank you.”

Dean smiled even though Cas couldn’t see it. “It’s not over yet, babe.”

Cas lifted his head and looked at him. “What else do you have planned?”

Dean’s smile turned soft as he looked down at Cas, stared into the startling blue eyes he loved to get lost in. “I was thinking…we go home and have some fun. Then in the morning, I’ll make us some breakfast, we take a nice, long shower together. Sam and Jess will probably get there around ten to help out if all goes as planned. Then we get to work.”

Cas’s eyebrows scrunched together and he sat up, looking at Dean confused. “What are you talking about, Dean? Get to work on what?”

Dean swallowed, it was now or never. “On packing.”

Cas’s head tilted the slightest bit, making him look like a little puppy. “Are you moving, Dean?”

Dean fought the urge to make a sarcastic remark, this was supposed to be romantic. “Actually, Cas…”

He bit his lip nervously, his heart racing. What if he said no? What if it made things weird? What if it was moving too fast? Dean moved all those thoughts out of his mind as he pulled his arm back and took Cas’s hands in his own, staring deep into his eyes. “Cas…you’re absolutely amazing. I couldn’t ask for a better boyfriend and I wouldn’t want one. You’ve helped me so much. You helped me with all my family issues, you saved my ass twice, you helped me when I was going through therapy for my knee. I love you and I want to spend as much time with you as I can. I don’t know what you’ll say, if it’s the right move, or if it’s too soon…but…Cas, will you move in with me?”

Cas’s eyes widened and his lips parted slightly. “Are you sure, Dean? This is a huge step.”

Dean nodded. “I’ve thought about it a lot. We’re practically glued to each other’s hip anyway. I…I want to wake up every morning and see you in my arms. I want to make you breakfast and get ready for work together. I want to come home to find you drinking a beer, watching tv on the couch. I don’t want to come home to an empty house anymore, Cas, not when I can share it with you. If you think it’s too fast, then I can wait until you’re ready, but…this is what I want.”

For a split moment, Dean thought it was the worst idea he’d ever had. He thought that Cas was going to reject him and send him packing. Then a huge smile split across Cas’s face and he started nodding. “I would love that, Dean.”

Dean perked up a bit. “Really? Cas, are you sure? I want you to be-.”

Dean was interrupted by Cas’s lips smashing to his own. Cas threw his arms around Dean’s neck, pushing him back on the bench. Dean smiled around the kiss and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him closer. When Cas finally pulled away, his face was lit up. Dean chuckled, “I take it we’re going with my plan, then?”

Cas laughed, “Yes, Dean. We’re going with your plan.”

**SPN**

Dean set the box down and straightened his back with a groan. They were bringing in the last of the boxes from Cas’s apartment and his back was starting to protest from all the work they’d been doing all day.

Cas looked over at him and smiled. “Maybe we should order a pizza and then take a break when it gets here.”

Dean looked at him and nodded, “Sounds like a plan to me.”

He walked outside where the rest of the gang were unloading boxes and hollered to them. “Hey! We’re ordering pizzas. What does everyone want?”

There was a collection of shouts and all Dean could do was stand there dumbly as he couldn’t make out a single of their orders. Cas appeared in the doorway. “Cheese, Meat Lovers, Supreme, Pepperoni, and two Sausages.”

Dean looked down at him and shook his head. “How the hell did you catch all of that?”

Cas shrugged innocently. “I have to deal with chaos on a daily basis, Dean. I am used to picking out different orders.”

Dean chuckled and walked back inside to order the pizzas while the others moved boxes around him. When they were ordered, he slipped the phone into his pocket and got to work on one of the boxes.

They’d forgotten a marker so most of the boxes weren’t labeled, making it fun for all of them to sort everything out. The box he’d opened was full of clothes so he took it back into the room he now shared with Cas. A smile came to his face as he realized that it was now _their_ room and not _his_. It had a nice ring to it.

He set the box down by the closet and left to go find another box. He figured that Cas would be better at sorting through his clothes than he would.

Dean and Cas had managed to convince Sam, Jess, Nikki, Balthazar, Ellen, Jo, Bobby, and Ash into helping them pack up and move Cas’s entire apartment to Dean’s small house. Of course, there was a good portion of Cas’s stuff that he had sent to a storage space he rented. There were several obvious things he couldn’t bring with him like his couch and most of his furniture. They did, however, use Cas’s bed given that it was far more comfortable than Dean’s.

They had worked at a pretty good pace, making very good time. Dean had figured it would take them at least two days to get everything packed up and moved, but Cas was very efficient and it had taken half the time.

They worked at a good pace, sorting through boxes, emptying them, and finding places for different things. There was some rearranging of furniture in several rooms, Dean didn’t have a problem with that. Though he’d made a deal not to touch his kitchen. There were more dishes, silverware, pans, that sort of thing that they added to the kitchen, but nothing was rearranged or moved. He did most of the cooking in the house, so Cas reasoned that it was a good deal.

A knock came on the door and Dean stood, grabbing his wallet from the counter, expecting to find the pizza guy, his stomach growing. He opened the door as he opened his wallet, not noticing who was at the door.

“So, how much do I owe you again?”

“Um…what?”

Dean looked up from his wallet and stopped. “Um…sorry. I thought you were the pizza guy. Who are you?”

“My name’s Adam Milligan. Are you…Dean Winchester?”

Dean’s brow scrunched together and he nodded slowly. “Yeah, that’s me. I’m sorry, but have we met before?”

Adam smiled softly, obviously nervous. “Not, not exactly. Um…I need to talk to you about something. Can I…uh, come in?”

Dean nodded dumbly, not sure where this was going. “Yeah, uh, sure. Come on in. We have some friends over, but we can go in the kitchen and talk.”

Adam nodded and followed Dean through the house. When they reached the living room, they all looked up thinking Dean was bringing in the pizzas. Cas’s brow scrunched together in confusion. “Who is this, Dean?”

“Um, his name is Adam. He needs to talk about something so we’ll be in the kitchen. Here, the pizza should be here soon.”

He handed Cas his wallet before turning around and going into the kitchen with Adam right behind him. He leaned up against the counter, folded his arms over his chest.

“So…”

Adam but his lip, leaning against the opposite counter. He was fidgeting, trying to get up the courage to say what he’d come there to say.

“I guess I’ll, uh, start from the beginning so it makes sense.”

Dean nodded, curious as to where the hell this was going. “Okay, makes sense.”

“So…I grew up with just my mom. I’ve never met my dad before. I always asked her about him, but for years all she would tell me is that he likes to travel, he never stays in one place. She said he didn’t even know he had a son, she’d never told him because he was gone before she found out she was pregnant. She didn’t want to hold him back. A while ago…she finally told me his name. She said she’d seen it on the news that he’d…died…and thought I should know. It took me some time to wrap my head around it, but when I did…I did some digging. I wanted to know everything I could about him. That’s when I found out I have siblings. I’ve been trying to find the courage to do this ever since I found out, but…I’m your brother, Dean.”

Dean stared at him dumbly for a moment, not able to process what he’d said. “…What?”

Adam swallowed. “I’m your little brother. Our parents got together while he was in Windom, Minnesota.”

Dean turned his head slightly, as if that would make it easier to understand what he was saying. “Wait, you’re telling me…that my dad…hooked up with your mom…and I have a little brother? Well… _another_ little brother?”

Adam nodded, “Yeah. I know it’s a lot to take in, but…”

Dean straightened, attempting to wrap his mind around it. “Wow. How…Wow. I was not expecting that. So…you decided to randomly drop in and say, ‘Hey! I’m your brother! So…nice meeting you!’? That…I honestly don’t know what to say. This family just keeps getting bigger and weirder.”

He rubbed a hand over his face briefly before looking up to find Adam looking kind of scared, not sure what to do or say. Dean softened.

“Look, kid, it’s just hard to wrap my head around it. Nothing personal. Our family is just…a bit messed up.”

Adam looked up at him confused. “What do you mean messed up?”

“Well… Dad was part of a gang for most of his life because he was forced to be. He moved me around from town to town from the time I was six until I was twenty. Then he disappears for ten years. I find out I have a twin who was taken right after we were born, find my little brother I hadn’t seen since he was a month old along with my screwed in the head mother who walked out on us, find Dad who tells me everything is his fault then dies. Then I find out it’s all really Mom’s fault and she planned everything, making Dad think it was his fault. She murdered dozens of people including my boyfriend’s parents, had me kidnapped, had my sister kidnapped, almost killed me, then she was killed by dogs. But other than that…we’re perfectly normal.”

Adam stared at him wide eyed, obviously having known none of that. Dean sighed, running a hand through his hair. “A lot has happened to this family and we’re still recovering. Sam and Jess just moved here from California to be closer and move on from what happened there. Nikki is still dealing with the fact she never got to meet Dad. Cas is still wrapping his head around the fact that my mother had his parents killed when he was eighteen and almost him. Hell, _I’m_ still wrapping my head around that. Things are finally starting to go back to normal around here. It’s a lot to take in on short notice.”

Adam nodded, swallowing again. “I know. I didn’t know any of that…I guess I shouldn’t have come.”

He moved towards the door to leave, but Dean blocked his way. “I never said that. I’m glad you came and told me. The more family the merrier. How old are you, kid?”

Adam smiled kindly. “Nineteen.”

Dean nodded and stuck out his hand. “It’s good to meet you, Adam.”

Adam’s smile widened as he shook his big brother’s hand. “It’s good to meet you too, Dean.”

They heard a knock on the door then a moment later it opened. They could hear Cas talking to the pizza guy. Dean looked down at Adam, a soft smile on his face. “Pizza’s here and you’re welcome to stay. Plus, you’ll get to meet the rest of the family.”

Adam nodded, “I’d like that.”

Dean nodded, “Okay then. Let’s go introduce you to the family.”

They walked into the living room as Cas appeared with the pizzas. Dean looked around at everyone before taking a breath and telling himself to get it over with.

“Hey, everyone. I want you to meet someone.”

Everyone looked over at him as Cas set the boxes of pizza on the table. Dean half turned to Adam. “This is Adam. My brother. Well… _our_ brother?”

Everyone was silent for a long moment, none of them knowing what to say. Sam looked up at him. “Wait…you’re saying…he’s our brother?”

Dean nodded, “Yep. Well, half-brother. He got lucky and got a different mom.”

Adam attempted a wave at the room. “Hey.”

Nikki stood up and walked over to him. She stuck out her hand, which he took. “It’s nice meeting you. I didn’t even know we had another brother.”

Adam nodded, “Yeah, neither did I until a little while ago. I didn’t even know who my dad was.”

Nikki nodded. “At least I’m not the only one who hasn’t met him.”

Dean snorted and rolled his eyes. “If it makes you feel any better, Cas never met him either. Or Jo. Or Balthazar, Jess, Sam, or Ash.”

Nikki punched him in the shoulder. “You know what I mean, ass.”

Dean’s smile widened. Sam stood up, still wearing a confused look on his face. “So, did Dad even know?”

Adam shook his head. “He was gone before my mom found out she was pregnant. She said she didn’t want to hold him back so she never told him.”

Sam nodded as he walked around the table towards them, offering his hand. “Well, I’m Sam. That was Nikki, Dean’s twin obviously. They’re frighteningly alike. Beware. It’s nice meeting you.”

Adam nodded. “You too.”

Sam gestured towards the pizza. “Come join us for pizza. We’re just taking a break from moving Cas in.”

Dean took his seat next to Cas on the loveseat as Nikki pulled Adam down next to her at the end of the couch. Dean looked over at him. “So, I guess I’ll make the rest of the introductions. Next to Nikki is Jo, the guy with the mullet is Ash. Old guy over in the chair is Bobby, he’s our adopted Dad. His wife, Ellen, who is Jo’s mom. Pretty blonde is Jess, Sam’s fiancé. The bloke over in the chair is Balthazar, Cas’s partner. And this is Cas, my boyfriend.”

Adam looked around at all of them, offering them a small smile and a wave. “It’s nice meeting all of you.”

Ellen smiled kindly at him, her eyes wrinkling as she did. “It’s nice meeting you as well, honey. How old are you?”

“Nineteen.”

She nodded, “Well, I own a bar called The Roadhouse Bar & Grille. You come by anytime, we have food too. One of these fools will show you where it is.”

Dean chuckled. “It’s pretty damn good food too, trust me.”

Cas nodded his agreement. “They have the best bacon cheeseburgers you’ll ever find.”

Jo leaned forward so she could see him. “I second that.”

Adam’s smile widened. “I’ll have to try it sometime.”

Nikki nodded, “We could go there for lunch tomorrow or something. I mean…if you’ll still be in town? Do you live here or just visiting?”

Adam shifted uncomfortably. “I…I don’t really know.”

Dean looked up at him from where he was currently investigating the boxes of pizza. The talk of food reminded him of the newly arrived pizzas.

“What do you mean?”

Adam shrugged. “My mom passed away shortly after hearing about Dad’s death. She was in an accident. So…I don’t exactly have anywhere to go.”

The room was silent for a short moment before an idea popped into Nikki’s head and she jumped up and down in her seat. “I know! I know! I have an extra room in the house that I rent. You could come live with me! Then we can hang out and get to know each other! And you’ll be close to family because we’re all family here.”

Adam looked at her hopefully. “Really? You wouldn’t mind?”

She looked at him as if he were crazy. “Of course I don’t mind! You’re family! You’re my little brother! I want to get to know you. And given you don’t have anywhere to go…if you want to…I’d like to help you out there.”

His face brightened. “I’d love that.”

Half her face was taken up by her grin. “Great! We can move you in right after we’re done moving Cas in here. It shouldn’t take too much longer after we’re done eating.”

 

 

They continued to talk, share stories with each other, get to know the newest member in their growing family. Sam and Jess announced the date of their wedding since they had to move it to another state, move venues, ect. Dean and Cas announced the date of their house warming party, followed by Sam adding that it would be for themselves as well since Cas had moved in with Dean. Nikki then proceeded to say it was for Adam as well since he was moving in with her.

Ellen and Bobby watched them happily, throwing in comments and stories of their own. Once the pizzas were devoured and beers were consumed by all of them including Adam, they continued their work, but they didn’t see it as work. They saw it as spending quality time with their family. They saw it as having a good time, creating new memories they would always look back on. At some point in the night, a camera was brought out and Cas started taking pictures of all of them, saying he needed them for something.

The next day, he took pictures as they moved Adam’s stuff into Nikki’s house. At Sam and Jess’s wedding, he took countless pictures, the camera never leaving his hand for long. Then there was Dean’s surprise birthday party, the day Sam and Jess announced they were having a baby, office parties they were forced to attend. He captured memories on nights they would go to the bar to have fun, when both Balthazar and Castiel were promoted to special agents and given a bigger office. There were the moments they would surprise Dean at work, the romantic picnics in the same park Dean had asked him to move in with him. Eventually, it became the same park Dean asked him to marry him. Of course, Castiel accepted. Sam was in charge of the camera for the wedding, making sure lots of memories were preserved.

As the baby was born and grew, the progress was captured. Summer cookouts, random parties, even moments when they were chilling around the house. Adam met a girl, fell in love, got married, and had children. As did Nikki, Jo, and Ash. All of respectable genders, of course. There were the fights, the hardships, the failures, but there were also the laughs, the good times, and the new discoveries. Their family continued to grow through the years. Dean and Cas eventually adopting two children and raising them as their own. Nikki had twins of her own. She gave one of them the middle name Dean because they hadn’t been able to get her to the hospital due to a blizzard and he’d had to deliver the babies himself.

There were pictures of anniversaries, birthdays, holidays, and random days. Pictures of Dean with his guitar, singing to their children. Pictures of Cas chasing after their daughter as she learned how to ride a bike and was racing down the road. There were pictures of every occasion. Dean had taken it upon himself to take a picture of Crowley and Alastair in handcuffs when they were finally found and arrested.

No one knew why they were taken, or where they had gone to until one anniversary many, many years down the road when Dean found a box laying on the table. It was wrapped in silver paper with a bow on top. It had his name on it. He opened it gingerly, wondering what could be inside. He heard his children running around, scrambling to get ready for school. He knew he should be making breakfast, but he was fascinated. Inside he found a photo album. He gently lifted it out of the box and set it down on the counter. It was thick, very thick. He opened it and couldn’t help the small gasp that escaped. There, on the very first page, was a picture of Dean sitting on the edge of a hospital bed. Cas was leaning against him, both of their eyes closed, smiles on their faces. Dean remembered…that was the day he’d been released from the hospital all those years ago when he’d been kidnapped. The first time.

There was a capture that read: Our Journey.

Dean flipped through page after page, laughing at some, swallowing down tears at others. There were pictures from the Bobby’s wake, from horrible fights somehow caught on camera, pictures of beers shared with the gang, of awards presented. There were pictures of Dean’s graduation from medical school, of their first kiss as a married couple. He couldn’t believe it. Cas had taken thousands of pictures over the years, saving them for this one moment, this one moment that would make Dean’s heart melt in several different ways. He felt tears roll down his face as he looked from picture to picture. He watched his nieces and nephews grow up all over again, his own children grow. He watched his hair turn gray around the edges, wrinkles appear on his face, but one thing stood out to him. His smile stayed the same. Throughout the years, through everything he’d been through and come out of, his smile never wavered. He and Cas had almost divorced, but they’d come out stronger than ever, his smile proving it.

His family had held him up and held him solid for so many years. Here was his proof. The family he had was amazing. They were there for each other, supported each other, laughed at each other, and cried with each other. They had fights, disagreements, but they always came out stronger.

Dean reached the final page and found a picture from years ago, one he’d forgotten was taken. It was taken back when Bobby was still alive, the children hadn’t been born yet, and most of them were still unmarried. Jess was about eight months pregnant with a hand resting gently on her round belly. Sam had his goofy grin in place as his arms wrapped around her. Bobby and Ellen were laughing at something that had been said. Jo was shoving Ash into Adam who almost fell over. Nikki was attempting to catch Adam. Dean and Cas stood in the dead center of it all, staring deeply into each other’s eyes, smiling. They each had an arm wrapped around the other’s waist, and they couldn’t be happier. They were surrounded by family and they were loved.

Beneath the picture read: We have survived many things, many tortures, many misfortunes, but thanks to our family we have lived to see marriages, children growing up happily, and never ending love. Our journey doesn’t end here, not even close. We have many more years ahead of us. We’ll cry. We’ll laugh. We’ll want to punch a wall or kiss until we run out of air. But the most important thing is we’ll do it together.

Dean closed the book and looked back on his life. He had no regrets. He had a handsome husband, two beautiful children, three annoyingly amazing siblings, nine goofy nieces and nephews, ten extended and adopted family members, and one amazing family. What more could he ask for?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...it's over. Wow. I can't believe it. Tell me what you thought of the story. I really want to hear what you guys think of it! Thank you so much for reading and sticking with it! It means so much! You all have been absolutely amazing, I couldn't ask for better readers, and I wouldn't! You have been my motivation to keep it going until the very end. Thank you again, so much! Not gonna lie...I have tears in my eyes...Good bye! ^.^


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